"In the past 8 years, there have been over 19.4 million electric vehicles with battery warranties, and the vast majority of these (electric vehicle) battery warranties will expire in the next 8 years," said Li Bin, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO on March 16th.
The China Business Daily reporter learned that from March 15th to 17th, the China Electric Vehicle Hundred People Conference Forum (2024) with the theme of "Consolidating and Expanding the Development Advantages of New Energy Vehicles" was held in Beijing. During this time, Li Bin was interviewed by multiple media reporters.
Li Bin stated that 2024 is a very important time point, and it is necessary to develop a better battery life plan for users, the industry, and the entire society. "We have also become increasingly aware of the importance of this matter during our operations."
"In the past few years, issues related to the interests of electric vehicle users have been resolved very well through the efforts of peers. This includes issues such as range, safety, cost, and charging rate, and the charging and swapping facilities are also getting better and better." Li Bin said.
"The issue of battery life must be considered in the long run, because scrapping a car requires a long cycle. If not technically prepared, it will be a huge burden in the future. This burden may not be for today's new car owners, but it may be for future second-hand and third hand car owners." Li Bin said bluntly, "It is urgent to solve this problem at this time today."
"NIO and its battery partners have proposed that the batteries developed in the future must meet the standards of 15 years, worry free mileage, and health not less than 85%, which basically achieves the same lifespan as cars and batteries." Li Bin admitted, "The cost of batteries will slightly increase, but it is technically feasible. NIO's battery swapping network, as an operating system, can also extend battery life through operation."
The reporter noticed that under the encouragement and promotion of national policies, the coverage of battery swapping networks is becoming wider and the battery swapping mode is receiving more and more attention from the industry. NIO has been deeply cultivating the battery swapping model for many years and has reached battery swapping cooperation with enterprises such as Changan, Geely, Jianghuai, Chery, etc.
It is also reported that on the evening of March 13th, NIO's battery swapping network completed 40 million battery exchanges. Li Bin said, "Replacing the battery is equivalent to a lifetime warranty."
Regarding the expansion of the "battery swapping alliance", Li Bin stated that NIO now has four vehicle enterprise partners for battery swapping, as well as many partners in other fields. "There are still several car companies in talks recently, and there should be some news released soon."
When it comes to the criteria for choosing a battery swapping partner, Li Bin said, "It's easy for us to choose a partner. As long as we're willing to participate in battery swapping, we're welcome. As long as we're willing to make pure electricity and make necessary modifications to its chassis to match the standards of our next generation battery pack, we're open. What we're open to now is the next generation battery pack, not the current one."
Regarding the "price war" in the current car market, Li Bin pointed out that it is now a period of oil and electricity handover, and various pressures will accumulate together. "Oil vehicles are profitable and have a foundation for price wars. Once a price war is fought, it will definitely spread to new energy vehicles. Everyone demands survival, so I think price wars at this stage are very normal."
However, Li Bin also stated that the "price war" in the car market will ultimately return to its commercial essence. "The essence of business is' rolling value ', which is value creation. What kind of value can enterprises create for users? The value created by different brands is different."
"The underlying logic of NIO has always been that we always ask ourselves what value we want to create for our users, what value NIO brand wants to create, what value Ledo brand wants to create, what value Firefly brand wants to create. Although its price varies, its value must be created," said Li Bin.
Regarding Chinese car companies going global, Li Bin believes that in the next 10 years, there will be 5 Chinese companies in the global automotive industry. "Now BYD has entered, Geely Holdings has included Volvo, and I believe it is also included. There are three more."
"Intelligent electric vehicles are three major industrial transformations, each with four success factors: market size, supply chain, talent technology, and industrial policies. The only industry that can fill all 12 success factors is China's intelligent electric vehicle industry," said Li Bin.
Li Bin said, "China will become the world's largest exporter of automobiles in 2023. This is because China's new energy vehicle industry has undergone more than a decade of full development, proving that its products and technologies can truly meet the needs of global users. This is due to the comprehensive capabilities of China's automotive industry. China's market size, industrial chain, supply chain foundation, depth and breadth of talent and technology, as well as the sustainability of industrial policies, have all laid a very good foundation for the development of China's new energy vehicle industry."
Li Bin believes that for some European car companies postponing their electrification plans, it is understandable that each company is making the most favorable strategic decision based on the competitive situation. "Traditional gasoline companies have performed well in the market in the past two years, especially with strong profitability. Any company that does not invest in electric vehicles must have strong profitability. The harvest of electric vehicles will take several years, but the investment will be in the current period. If the investment in the future is reduced, the financial performance of the current period will definitely be good."
Li Bin further stated, "For example, if NIO wants to make a profit, the simplest way is to do nothing and deposit the money in the bank, immediately turning it into a particularly profitable company. However, this is definitely not the long-term path of enterprise operation. Companies that do not invest in the future will certainly be better in the present, but will definitely lose the future."