Red Star Capital Bureau reported on December 23rd that on the evening of December 21st, NIO (09866.HK/NIO-US) released its intelligent electric executive flagship model ET9 at 2024 NIO Day, with a starting price of 788000 yuan; At the same time, the third brand Firefly was released, and the product made its global debut with a pre-sale price of 148800 yuan in the Chinese market. These two new cars are currently NIO's highest and lowest priced models, respectively.
The next morning, NIO Chairman Li Bin, NIO President Qin Lihong, and Firefly President Jin Ge accepted group interviews from multiple media outlets including Red Star Capital Bureau, responding to questions such as the appearance price of Firefly, competition with CATL (300750. SZ) in the battery swapping field, and whether the spacing between Maybach speed bumps in the ET9 comparison video is reasonable.
Question 1: Appearance
[align center] "Anticipated earlier" "Designed in Europe, aimed at the world"
The first model of Firefly, featuring a trio of headlights, has sparked significant controversy. Many netizens think that this design is "ugly and crying", and roast that it reminds people of the compound eyes of insects.
Regarding this, Jin Ge, the president of Firefly, said, "From the first day this design was born, I knew it must be a topic." "What we want to do is a high-end small car that was born globally and originated in China." He pointed out that the global market for small cars is 10 million, including 4 million in Europe and about 1.3 million in China. The high-end small car market needs a Chinese brand.
Li Bin responded by saying, "I have noticed the controversy surrounding the design of the Firefly headlights. Some people argue that it is better than nothing. The Firefly car was designed by the Munich Center and is very popular in the European market. There is no Plan B. Because it is aimed at the global market, the design also needs to take into account the preferences of global users. Sometimes we may like more here and less there." He said that his friends and friends who have seen the actual car have not said they don't like this design.
Qin Lihong emphasized that Firefly is an original design: "There are always some people who like it and some people who don't. Cars are not like paper, cups, or napkins, which can erase personality and only focus on functionality and performance. Cars are related to people's lives and their expectations and reflections of their own life status. Therefore, we must respect the fact that the automotive industry is naturally non monopolistic and winner takes all, and its essence is diverse
Question 2: Pricing
ET9 pricing anchor 78SP local price
Firefly and MINI's latest prices are the same
The pricing of ET9 is lower than market expectations, and the pre-sale price of Firefly 1 is higher than many people's expectations. Regarding this, Li Bin stated that pricing itself is a form of positioning.
The pricing logic of ET9 is anchored to the selling price of 78SP (BMW 7 Series, Audi A8L, Mercedes Benz S, Porsche Panamera) in their domestic manufacturing market. They are sold for about $100000 in the United States and Europe, and are priced higher in China due to factors such as taxes and consumption taxes.
Li Bin mentioned that the pre-sale price of Firefly is the recently adjusted price of the MINI two door version. If battery rental is used, the price will definitely be even lower. Its product definition is high-end boutique small cars, and its main competitors are MINI and Smart. With such a cost structure, while ensuring safety and producing products of the same level, even with the impact of tariffs, its product competitiveness is very strong
He made it clear that Firefly only has one car in the Chinese market, and there may be targeted models for different regions in the global market. NIO will accelerate the entry of Firefly into the global market.
Question 3: Competitors
Talk about Zunjie S800 and Ningde Times battery swapping
Response to Maybach speed bump spacing
NIO executives also responded to questions from competitors.
The Zunjie S800 under Hongmeng Zhixing is one of the potential competitors of ET9. Qin Lihong believes that the Zunjie S800 is a product worth looking forward to and respecting. Although Zunjie and ET9 have different value orientations, they will complement each other, with both competition and cooperation. Li Bin stated that the breakthrough of Chinese brands in the high-end administrative market will shake BBA's position.
On December 18th, CATL released the chocolate battery swapping ecosystem, with plans to eventually lay out 30000 chocolate battery swapping stations. Regarding this, Li Bin stated that the battery pack for CATL's battery swapping project is different from NIO's. He believes that having more people adopt the technology route of battery swapping is also a good thing, indicating that more companies are accepting it.
He also mentioned that NIO and CATL have been cooperating in battery swapping for a long time, with in-depth exchanges in battery swapping technology routes, asset management, and standards. Firefly's battery pack is smaller than NIO and Ledao brands, and it may have more cooperation with CATL's battery swapping ecosystem.
There were two videos on NIO Day that caught the attention of the audience. One was Li Bin personally conducting a high-speed tire blowout test; The other is that ET9 crossed speed bumps with Maybach, and ET9 performed better.
Li Bin believes that it is necessary for CEOs and product developers to personally test while ensuring safety. "CEOs are also chief experience officers, and E is experience
Some netizens have questioned whether the spacing between speed bumps in the comparison video is specifically customized for ET9. Qin Lihong pointed out that half of the deceleration zone is set based on the Maybach wheelbase, and the other half is set based on the ET9 wheelbase, which is an extremely fair test.
Red Star News reporter Wu Danruo
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