On March 5, NIO released its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023.
According to the financial report data, for the whole year of 2023, NIO's total revenue hit a new high, reaching 556200 million yuan, but the annual net loss reached a staggering 20.7 billion yuan.
Compared with the record of ideal revenue of more than 100 billion yuan and net profit of more than 10 billion yuan in the same period, Weilai, the former "big brother" of the new force, can be said to have tasted bitterness.
Since 2021, NIO's gross profit margin has gradually declined, of which the gross profit margin from 2021 to 2023 is. 5%。
The widening losses are due to NIO's continued spending on R&D and infrastructure.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, NIO spent 39700 million yuan, exceeding 3 billion for five consecutive quarters. For the full year of 2023, NIO's R&D expenses will be 134300 million yuan, exceeding 10 billion yuan for two consecutive years.
A large part of the huge R&D expenditure has been invested by NIO in the battery swap mode.
In 2023, NIO will build 1,035 new battery swap stations around the world, with a total of 2,350 built. Continued R&D investment and the expansion of battery swap infrastructure and user centers have increased NIO's financial pressure.
And with the launch of Huawei's supercharging technology, the charging pile "1 second 1 km" and high matching degree seem to have defeated the battery swap technology developed by NIO at a large price, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to NIO.
In addition, in terms of delivery, NIO will deliver a total of 160,000 new vehicles in 2023, only completing 65% of the annual sales. With more and more investment, but sales have not risen for a long time, is it really the right choice for NIO to go in terms of quality rather than quantity?
In any case, NIO will be a make-or-break in 2023. However, entering 2024, NIO has not admitted defeat.
In November last year, NIO and Changan Automobile signed a cooperation agreement on battery swap business in Chongqing, under which the two parties will cooperate on battery swapping to jointly promote the high-quality development and low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry.
According to the agreement, Changan Automobile's first battery-swappable passenger model that shares a battery pack with NIO is scheduled to be launched in 2025. With the advancement of the cooperation, users of some of the models of the two brands can share the public battery swap station jointly built by the two parties.
Not only Changan, but also Geely, Chery and JAC have also expressed interest in battery swapping technology. With the support of these manufacturers, perhaps this "black hole" that has plunged NIO into losses may one day become a lifesaver for NIO.
In addition to the battery swap mode ushering in a turnaround, NIO will also make great efforts in product layout in 2024.
In the second half of this year, NIO will launch a new brand, Alps. Li Bin said that Alps will have an independent sales network and adopt part of NIO's after-sales system. At the product level, Alps will focus on the family market and launch very competitive models for different families.
It is reported that the first model of the Alps will be a family SUV. The SUV is scheduled to be unveiled in the third quarter of this year, with deliveries completed in the fourth quarter.
The spy photo styling of this car is similar to Tesla's Model Y. Li Bin also said that its cost will be about 10% lower than that of Model Y. In 2023, Tesla's cost of selling a single car will be about 250,000 yuan. Based on this calculation, the estimated sales cost of Alps' new car is around 230,000 yuan.
From this point of view, Alps, which is focused on volume, may have given up on the pursuit of gross profits. However, such an Alps can be described as an avalanche for new energy vehicle brands below the 200,000 yuan level.
And that's not all, Li Bin said that Alps will have more than 100,000 yuan of models on the market. Perhaps the current NIO has withdrawn from the competition for low-cost new energy vehicles. But in the near future, Li Bin's Alps may sweep the market below 200,000 yuan.
On March 1, Liu Jie, vice president of business of Li Auto, said in an interview with reporters: "We judge that in the new energy vehicle market of more than 200,000 yuan, by the end of this year, there will be a particularly clear top three, and they will even occupy 70% of the market share." In the top three, we (Li Auto) and Wenjie will definitely be in it. ”
By the end of 2024, will NIO be able to win the last "top three" seat, so as to gain ample living space? Let's wait and see!