If there is no technological leadership, if I don't make originality, I am embarrassed to say that I am a high-end brand. ”
This sentence recently said by Li Bin, the founder of NIO, which left a deep impression on the outside world. It turns out that NIO is doing high-end, which is fighting technology. A few days later, at NIO Day 2023, NIO showed off its technical background to the fullest, especially the newly unveiled smart electric executive flagship ET9.
As a new car designed for a new generation of high-end business users, the ET9 integrates NIO's latest technological achievements. At the same time as the ET9, there are also four core technologies of NIO, including self-developed intelligent driving chips, self-developed global 900V high-voltage architecture, Tianxing chassis system, and flagship-level safety standards. Relying on these capabilities, NIO is enough to define the technical standards for the next generation of high-end smart electric vehicles.
Not all brands have the confidence to do high-end. In the past few decades, the core technology of the "three major parts" of fuel vehicles has been in the hands of foreign car giants, and few Chinese brands have made remarkable achievements in the high-end market.
How to achieve high-end development?We believe that it must not be a pile of refrigerators, color TVs, and large sofas, nor is it blindly fixed, nor is it plagiarism following industry hotspots. Only by continuing to make efforts in technological innovation can China's high-end cars stand.
This year's NIO Day is a testament to this. Through an in-depth understanding of the information released on this year's NIO Day, more and more people understand this: NIO's background is technology and products. According to Li Bin, NIO's 12 full-stack technologies for smart electric vehicles have put together all the pieces of the puzzle, laid all the foundations, and embodied them in one car, which is ET9.
Some say ET9 sets a new standard for executive flagships, while others say it defines the technical standards for the next generation of high-end smart electric vehicles.
Looking at the field of administrative flagships, brands such as the S-class, BMW 7 Series, and Porsche Panamera are the main forces, while Chinese brands have rarely done anything, while ET9 can directly wrestle with them, which benefits from the support of a series of technological innovations.
In fact, NIO has always focused on investment in technological innovation. In the past few years, NIO has invested nearly 40 billion yuan in R&D. In the past year, NIO has invested an average of more than 3 billion yuan per quarter, and as of the end of November, the total number of patents pending and authorized by NIO worldwide has reached 7,700, far exceeding that of other emerging brands.
The accumulation of the above technical capabilities is perfectly reflected in the ET9. For example, in order to achieve a global 900V high-voltage architecture, ET9 needs to have full-stack self-research capabilities from battery cells to battery packs, and NIO has developed its own 46105 large cylindrical battery cells and battery packs for 900V, with an energy density of up to 292Wh kg and a full pack capacity of 120kWh, with a charging efficiency of 5C for supercharging and quick-swapping battery packs.
In addition, in order to better match the algorithm requirements of the intelligent driving chip, NIO's intelligent driving chip Shenji NX9031 is the first in the industry to be manufactured using a 5nm automotive specification process, and the image signal processor ISP and inference acceleration unit NPU are all self-developed by NIO, and NIO's global vehicle operating system Tianshu SKYOS will also be fully and completely applied on ET9.
While focusing on the investment and accumulation of technological innovation, NIO has also joined hands with outstanding forces in the industry to explore together. Li Bin said that from the first day of its establishment, NIO has paid great attention to the innovation of the ** chain. When NIO built an all-aluminum body, it introduced the world's top partners.
The debut of NIO ET9 has allowed the outside world to see a more cutting-edge technology temperament. It condenses NIO's enterprising spirit in innovative technology research and development, and has become an important weapon for NIO's brand development.
In fact, NIO's leading advantage in the high-end pure electric market has been very obvious. According to the data, in the third quarter of 2023, in China's electric vehicle market with an average transaction price of more than 300,000 yuan, NIO occupied more than 45% of the market share, ranking first. In Shanghai, NIO's sales have surpassed BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi (including fuel vehicles) for five consecutive months.
It is undeniable that NIO has the ability to define high-end pure electric rules in multiple dimensions such as technology, products, services, and communities. In terms of energy replenishment, NIO's battery swap service is becoming more and more perfect, and at the same time, the charging network is also very large. At present, NIO has become the electric vehicle brand with the largest number of charging piles installed and the widest range of charging piles, and users of the entire new energy vehicle market will benefit.
Next, NIO's charging and swapping construction will continue to be upgraded. At this year's NIO Day, NIO officially released the *** battery swap station and 640kW fully liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging pile. **The battery swap station supports multi-brand shared battery swapping, and the battery swap time is shortened by 22%.Equipped with a rooftop photovoltaic system, each station saves nearly 180,000 kWh. NIO's 640kW fully liquid-cooled ultra-fast charging pile has a maximum current of 765A, a maximum voltage of 1000V, and a peak charging power of 640kW, which can intelligently distribute charging power in the station in real time. In 2024, NIO will add 1,000 battery swap stations and 20,000 charging poles to further improve the charging experience for users.
In the upcoming 2024, the industry competition will undoubtedly be more intense. What is certain is that NIO will not be involved in the ineffective competition of exchanging price for quantity, but will continue to strengthen its product strength through technological advantages, coupled with the improvement of sales and service capabilities, and accelerate the upward development of the enterprise while leading the high-end pure electric market.