NIO is the most willing car making new force in the research and development field, but when the outside world evaluates NIO, the first keywords that come to mind may be high-end, service, and experience, perhaps not "technical standards".
All along, the input-output effect of NIO's research and development seems not to be as obvious.
On December 23rd, at NIO Day 2023, NIO showcased its technical "muscle" skills.
The all-new flagship model NIO ET9, self-developed intelligent driving chip, full range 900V high-voltage architecture, 46105 cylindrical battery and intelligent chassis system, NIO has intensively released heavyweight new products and core technologies.
At this annual event of NIO, NIO demonstrated its strength as a leading enterprise in China's high-end new energy vehicle brands.
When Li Bin, the founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, releases a new technology, he always receives cheers and applause from thousands of NIO car owners in the audience.
However, it should be pointed out that it will take some time for NIO's car and its core technologies to truly enter the market.
For 2024, facing the increasingly competitive Chinese new energy vehicle market, survival remains the most important issue for NIO.
However, on this year's NIO Day, we can still see the persistence of NIO and Li Bin.
Even though the huge investment in the supplementary energy system is an important reason for NIO's continuous losses, NIO still regards it as one of the core competitiveness of a high-end brand in optimizing user experience.
NIO is already the most complete and widely distributed car company in China's charging network, but whether it is battery swapping or overcharging, NIO will continue to invest in 2024. Next year, it plans to increase the number of battery swapping stations by 1000, add 20000 charging stations, and put the fourth generation battery swapping stations into use.
The starting price of the most expensive mass-produced car is 800000 yuan, which is a culmination of NIO's research and development technology
The heaviest product on NIO Day 2023 is undoubtedly the all-new flagship model ET9 from NIO.
This car has a length of 5325 millimeters, a width of 2016 millimeters, a height of 1620 millimeters, a wheelbase of 3250 millimeters, and a ground clearance of 200 millimeters. It adopts a flying body design and an original layout of four administrative seats.
The pre-sale price of the new car is 800000 yuan, which will be the highest selling price among NIO's mass-produced cars. It is planned to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025.
As Li Bin said, "Administrative flagship has always been a technological flagship." ET9 is the crystallization of NIO's innovation and will also be the culmination of NIO's technological innovation.
On that day, NIO's latest technological achievements and products, including self-developed chips, self-developed batteries, 900V high-voltage systems, and Tianxing chassis systems, were simultaneously released.
In terms of self-developed chips, NIO has officially released its first self-developed intelligent driving chip - the Shenji NX9031.
Li Bin stated that NIO's goal is to achieve the performance of four flagship intelligent driving chips in the industry with a self-developed chip.
It is reported that the Shenji NX9031 is the industry's first intelligent driving chip manufactured using 5nm automotive technology, with over 50 billion transistors. Through its self-developed inference acceleration unit NPU (NPU TPP computing power, Total Power Performance< 4800), it can flexibly and efficiently run various AI algorithms.
In addition, the Shenji NX9031 can dynamically wake up various subsystems in microseconds, combined with the strongest safety redundancy capability, bringing the ultimate peace of mind and efficient intelligent driving experience.
The NIO ET9 is equipped with the first domestic "full range 900V high-voltage architecture", with a maximum voltage of 925V, a peak charging power of 600kW, and a peak charging current of 765A, all of which are the world's first.
Meanwhile, NIO has also independently developed 46105 large cylindrical battery cells and battery packs.
The energy density of the battery cells is as high as 292Wh/kg, and the utilization rate of the entire battery pack reaches 84%, with a capacity of 120kWh.
In addition, the 340kW high-performance permanent magnet synchronous electric drive has a power density of 2.6kW/kg.
According to NIO's official statement, the 900V supercharging and fast swapping energy replenishment system has three core advantages: lightning charging, wide area charging, and high-speed swapping, and can achieve industry-leading supercharging performance by increasing the 5-minute charging range by 255km.
The SkyRide chassis system installed on the NIO ET9 integrates three core hardware systems: wire controlled steering, rear wheel steering, and fully active suspension, making it the only fully wire controlled intelligent chassis system in the world.
Wire controlled steering uses electrical signal transmission, without the constraints of traditional mechanical structures on shape and space. The maximum rear wheel steering angle can reach 8.3; Deg;, Can achieve a minimum turning diameter of 10.9 meters. Fully active suspension, as the world's first integrated hydraulic fully active suspension system, integrates shock absorbers and active suspension electric drive units for the first time, comprehensively improving handling, comfort, and safety.
Next year, 1000 new replacement power stations will be added to continuously strengthen the advantages of the energy replenishment system
Making refueling more convenient than refueling has always been NIO's corporate vision. NIO is also gradually turning this goal into reality.
At the 2023 NIO Day, Li Bin summarized NIO's achievements in the energy replenishment network, released the latest fast charging piles and fourth generation replacement power stations, and announced the layout plan for 2024.
"Rechargeable, interchangeable, and upgradable" are the three major characteristics of NIO's energy replenishment system.
In terms of charging, NIO provides the most home charging station products in the industry, meeting the needs of different users. In the field of public charging, NIO has already laid out 20955 charging stations nationwide, covering 307 cities. It is the car brand with the most charging stations laid out in China, the car brand with the widest coverage of charging stations, and the brand with the most charging stations laid out on highways.
At the same time, NIO's layout of charging stations not only optimizes the driving experience for NIO users, but also provides important assistance for the development of the entire industry. Nearly 80% of the power of NIO charging stations is provided to users of other automotive brands.
"Everyone knows that NIO battery swapping is good, but don't forget that NIO's charging has always been the top in the industry," said Li Bin.
In terms of battery swapping, NIO has reached a thousand station plan proposed in early 2023 to add one thousand new battery swapping stations this year on December 22. NIO has built 2309 battery swapping stations in China. Among them, NIO has laid out 745 battery swapping stations on the expressway and built a high-speed battery swapping network in 11 major urban clusters, including 7 vertical, 6 horizontal.
"Replacing the battery is the best way to replenish energy, and there is no other way," Li Bin emphasized.
NIO Day in 2023 also released two new products for the energy replenishment system. Compared to the slightly distant ET9, NIO's newly released 640kW fully liquid cooled ultra fast charging pile and fourth generation battery swapping station will be put into operation starting from April next year.
The NIO 640kW fully liquid cooled ultra fast charging pile has a peak charging power of up to 640kW, a maximum output current of 765A, a maximum output voltage of 1000V, and a charging gun wire weight of 2.4kg.
NIO's fourth generation battery swapping station has increased the number of battery slots to 24, with a maximum daily service of 480 times and a 22% reduction in single battery swapping time. The intelligence level of the fourth generation battery swapping station has also been improved, equipped with four NVIDIA Orin X chips, with a total computing power of 1016 TOPS, and equipped with six ultra large field of view LiDARs.
Regarding the 2024 charging and swapping network layout plan, Li Bin stated that NIO plans to add 1000 swapping stations, totaling more than 3310, and add 20000 charging stations, totaling more than 41000.
Continuing upwards, NIO firmly adheres to the "luxury" brand label
The theme of 2023 NIO Day is "Upward", which is NIO's commitment to building a Chinese luxury brand in the increasingly competitive automotive industry.
Looking back at 2023, NIO has experienced a downturn and has even been questioned again whether it will die. Whether it is price adjustments or layoffs to increase efficiency, NIO is determined to continue to survive.
But Li Bin has his persistence. He doesn't want NIO to get involved in a price war solely for sales, let alone lose the brand value and style that NIO has worked hard to accumulate over the years.
Although many people say that NIO needs a cheap car to increase sales and needs to lower the price. But this is not what NIO's main brand needs to do.
Building a luxury brand requires multiple aspects of accumulation, and it's not just about price that you want to compete with BBA. NIO showcased numerous technologies at this year's NIO Day, with the main purpose of using its technological strength to enhance its luxurious tone.
In fact, whether it is product strength or brand strength, NIO has changed the stereotype of low-end, cheap, and shoddy Chinese brands from the outside world.
Driven by NIO, a group of high-end brands incubated by traditional car companies have also emerged, but NIO cannot be easily replicated. With the intensification of the price war, many so-called Chinese high-end brands have been involved in the price war. Some companies may have experienced short-term growth in quantity, but have completely lost their original intention of establishing a brand and also lost brand value.
Overall, NIO's current strategy is relatively fresh, with the task of volume expansion being entrusted to the Alpine brand, and battery swapping also reducing operating costs and improving efficiency through external cooperation and opening up. The main brand of NIO continues to focus on the luxury pure electric market and continues to rise, becoming a brand that truly competes with Mercedes Benz and BMW in all aspects.