After just receiving the "recharge" of Middle Eastern capital, NIO quickly released its big move.
When the news came out that a flagship model would be released at the 2023 NIO Day, half of the people in the industry who paid attention to NIO were not optimistic and half were wait-and-see.
On the evening of December 23, Li Bin spent an hour standing on the stage in Xi'an, the host city of this year's NIO Day, to talk about the details of the products of ET9, which is positioned as the executive flagship.
Still, Li Bin said, this is only a third of the story.
To put it simply, ET9 integrates all of NIO's full-stack self-developed technologies, is positioned as an executive flagship, and technology is the most important label, which can be said to be equivalent to the S-level, Mai**, or 7 series in NIO's product system.
But this time, NIO did not choose to benchmark BBA in the market segment, but more to benchmark product strategy. Li Bin said that for NIO, ET9 is a declaration of NIO's positioning of the brand in the high-end core market.
Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, also added that the ET9 is the first car for Chinese automobiles to enter the core fortress of BBA.
Regarding all aspects of the definition of ET9 products, NIO actually thinks very clearly, but for the outside world, it still takes time to understand NIO.
Recently, Li Bin appeared intensively, on December 14, Li Bin chatted with ** for two hours, and then, without full preparation, Li Bin engaged in a "surprise attack", personally tested the 150-degree battery, and ran 1044 kilometers on the highway in one day.
Immediately after the NIO Day on December 23, Li Bin set aside a large chunk of time to communicate with **, the core of which includes several aspects: ET9, technical background and NIO's goals.
ET9, let everyone know the technical background of NIO.
In his recent appearances, Li Bin talked about technology the most.
In the interview, Li Bin said that NIO's puzzle of full-stack technology for smart cars has been put together, and it is ET9 to reflect it in one car.
ET9 claims to have 12 full-stack technology layouts, including NIO's self-developed chips and vehicle global operating systems, self-developed global 900V high-voltage architecture, etc., and many flagship models have been equipped with steer-by-wire, rear-wheel steering, active suspension, etc., which are also fully equipped with **.
Despite this, after the debut of ET9, there is no shortage of comments in the industry that "technology is not subversive enough".
The ET9 will be equipped with NIO's self-developed chips.
Li Bin also responded that there is a gap between "what there is and what ability", and "technical experience" and "experience standard" are not one dimension.
In fact, the ET9 will be unveiled on NIO Day 2023 and delivered in the first quarter of 2025, which is a long-term rhythm that is very much in line with NIO's past new car release rhythm.
For NIO, it is precisely because it has enough technological innovation confidence that it can stay sober in the rapidly fluctuating market.
Therefore, when there were voices questioning that Weilai, which had the head iron, did not cut the dual motors of Weilai's existing products to reduce costs, Li Bin responded that Weilai does not engage in single motors, but pays attention to the redundancy of the drive, which is a rational and pragmatic choice.
In most people's minds, the one who uses a champagne tower to test the stability of a vehicle is Lexus. In the era of fuel vehicles, Lexus started the vehicle after placing a champagne tower on the hood of its flagship model, and the champagne tower did not move, causing an industry sensation. A few years later, the technology of domestic cars developed by leaps and bounds, and the champagne tower was placed on the front of the car to drive on bumpy roads without spilling a drop. This is not only the progress of science and technology, but also the achievement of the rapid development of domestic automobiles.
In the first appearance of the ET9, NIO tested the stability of the ET9 engineering vehicle in motion by paying tribute to the champagne tower of Lexus, which perfectly interpreted the true connotation of inheritance and innovation in the automotive industry.
The technological evolution of ET9 also responds to the question that Li Bin has always wanted to explain: NIO is not only about service innovation, but also about technology.
By 2035, Chinese brands will account for five of the world's top 10. NIO strives to be one of them. "From responding to misunderstandings to reflecting on 2023, Li Bin's recent frequent appearances have also made the outside world realize one thing: NIO's original intention of building a high-end brand has never changed.
The core is NIO's clear understanding of the future and how NIO will do it.
In the past year, China's automobile industry has been fiercely involuted, but Li Bin has rarely issued a "warning warning" to the industry.
He said that the automotive industry has never been a winner-takes-all, it is a long-term competition, and this year has done well, such as BYD, the winner in the field of new energy, and Chery, which has a strong combat effectiveness in the global market, and has actually been working hard in their respective fields for nearly 20 years.
Li Bin also doesn't believe in the so-called final round. He believes that the automotive industry will enter the finals in 2025, but the finals will end at an unknown time, and it is important for NIO to know what it wants to do and seek truth from facts.
For Li Bin, one thing is certain: in terms of the global market structure, in 2035, Chinese brands will account for five of the top ten in the world.
NIO's goal is to strive to become one of them.
The theme of NIO Day 2023 is "Up", which is NIO's self-motivation and the common expectation of the entire industry.
The upward NIO is showing resilience to growth, which is also a challenge that NIO has to face.