If we regard NIO DAY as a car company conference, then this year's NIO DAY is one of the most shocking conferences I have ever attended. What shocked me was not the content of the conference, nor how every second the ET5 car was, but after the ET5 price was announced, I had a number of media peers around me, all of whom took out their mobile phones and paid the ET5 reservation fee. In the WeChat circle of friends, several peers who did not come to participate in NIO DAY actually paid the reservation fee.
And that's not all. In the media interview room on the second day, from time to time, a media member stood up and asked questions, and the opening statement was: "Hello Bin Brother, I also ordered an ET5 last night, and today I have the following questions..."
Good guys, for a while, I, the owner of Weilai who has been picking up the car for more than a year, did not dare to speak out in the interview room, after all, I did not book a car last night...
It is reasonable to say that auto media editors who have tried many cars, interviewed many car company CEOs, and visited many car factories are generally more entangled when choosing a car, and they will be more picky. Why does a Weilai ET5 make everyone scramble? What a media member said the next day may explain the reason to some extent. He said: "Brother Bin, this car is based on this price and this configuration, if it is from other car companies, I may not necessarily buy it." But because this car is from Weilai, I did not hesitate to buy it. ”
What does this sentence mean? My interpretation is that we, the media peers, still talk about it. Because more than one person has said to me before: "I like the WEILAI brand very much, but Weilai's cars are too big and expensive, and they are not suitable for me." If Nio comes out with a smaller car, then I will definitely consider it."
Not only the automotive media, but also many people who pay attention to the new energy vehicle market and Pay attention to Weilai, on the night of NIO DAY, also "started" on ET5. According to the official statement of NIO, ET5 is the car that received the most orders on the day of launch after THE establishment of NIO, and there is no one.
In the cheering around ET5, and the overall better operating conditions of NIO in 2021, in the interviews of NIO DAY on the same day and after, many media hope that Li Bin will talk about the target of ET5 sales, who are the main competitors of ET5, and now that Weilai is imitated and chased by so many car companies, how Li Bin himself thinks.
I also put forward a question that I think is more difficult for Li Bin: Weilai has gradually changed from a previous catcher to a leader in the domestic new energy vehicle market, do you think your own mentality has changed? What do you think will be the main challenges ahead?
Li Bin's answer to me, let's say so, let me instantly feel that I am "small in the pattern".
Because he answered more content, I combined with several other questions to summarize and sort it out for you:
First, ET5 has no specific sales targets for the time being, nor has it set specific competitors. If there is any, Li Bin hopes to win more potential users of BBA's mid-level luxury cars (that is, we generally say 34C). If these consumers are not willing to buy Weilai, it does not matter, they can buy other trams. In short, it is to try to make trams eat the market of oil trucks.
Second, Weilai has never been a leader, but has always been a catch-up. The gap between NIO and international first-class car companies (such as BBA) is still very, very large, and WEILAI hopes to go to the international market, go to Germany, the United States and other developed automobile markets, and strive to catch up with those market leaders at the home of others. Weilai is not focusing on the new energy vehicle market, but on the entire passenger car market; Weilai is not only focusing on the Chinese market, but the global market.
Third, by 2025, NIO plans to sell its products to 50 countries and regions. And this "sales" is not agent sales, but the same direct operation as the Chinese market. Since the delivery of ET7 next year, the models sold by WEIlai to overseas markets will only be products of the new platform, that is, PRODUCTS OF ET7 and ET5 and later, and the SUV products of the old platform will not be sold overseas.
Inspired by the pattern, I want to talk about my own ideas at the end of the article about all the releases of NIO DAY, the ET5 car, and the dialogue with Li Bin. First of all, ET5, I also communicated with its product manager, this car has been developed as a global car from the beginning of development, for example, it has made a forward-looking design for Germany's unlimited speed highways, as well as the strict pedestrian protection regulations in Europe and the United States. Now it has a good initial response after its release in China, indicating that it is on the taste of Chinese consumers; is it really also the taste of European and American consumers? Then I dare not make a presumptuous assertion for the time being, but I hope that after "going to sea", Weilai can show this car and the characteristics of its own brand to foreign consumers, and try its best to succeed.
As for sales, I am more in agreement with Li Bin. Admittedly, the better Weilai's sales, for Li Bin, he can make more money; for me, the residual value of my car may be higher, which is all good. But in recent months, I have rarely cared specifically about how much Weilai's sales have risen, ranking older in new energy... Because I see that Weilai has been firmly adhering to the price, and the construction of the replacement power station and the promotion of new products are also being carried out in an orderly manner, which is a sign that the company is running well. Monthly sales of 100 more units less than 100 units, ranking higher or lower, and what is the so-called?
Finally, although China is now the best market for new energy vehicles in the world, any good product should prove itself here. But I still hope that our own Chinese auto companies (including traditional car companies and new power car companies), after gaining a firm foothold in the domestic market, can take going global as their next big goal like Weilai and several other companies. After all, overtaking in a corner, isn't that the moment we're waiting for? The great changes that have not occurred in a hundred years, are we not waiting for this moment?