Author | Harry Zhang
On December 18, 2021, nio Day 2021 was held in Suzhou. On-site WEILAI officially released a new medium-sized intelligent electric coupe ET5, with a starting price of 328,000 yuan before subsidies and 258,000 yuan before the subsidy of the BaaS power exchange program. Deliveries of this model will begin in September 2022.
NIO urgently needs ET5 assistance
As THE FLAGSHIP SEDO, the previously released ET7 will open the lock order on January 20, 2022, and the delivery will begin on March 28. The low-level ET5 began to be delivered only half a year later, that is, in September, which was a challenge for NIO's internal engineering and production teams. However, for the domestic automobile market, the pull effect of new cars on terminal sales is still relatively obvious. Weilai has launched two sedan models in a row, on the one hand, it can help it fill the gap in the car products, in the context of the high sales of Model 3 and P7 models, the listing of ET5 is also of strategic significance; on the other hand, the ET5 using BaaS is only priced at 258,000 yuan, and the lower entry price can also help Weilai to gain more sales through product sinking.
At present, although Weilai is in the first camp of new forces to build cars, it has no previous first-mover advantage in terminal sales momentum. In 2021, due to reasons such as chips and factory transformation, its monthly sales were once surpassed by Nezha Automobile. Not to mention that Xiaopeng and Ideal have also won the new power car-making championship for many months. Therefore, for Weilai, regaining the new power sales champion can become the best way to stabilize the military and the stock price.
For Weilai, its biggest problem is that there is no blockbuster model. At present, NIO has three main models on sale, the ES8 medium-sized SUV, the ES6 medium-sized SUV and the coupe EC6. With the launch of ES6, ES8 sales have been much inferior. However, the ES6 is also decent in its confrontation with other competitors, and has not become a blockbuster model that can compete with the Model Y. As for the upcoming ET7, the price of 44.80-52.60 million yuan is doomed to be a weapon to increase sales. Therefore, Weilai pinned all its hopes for increasing sales on ET5, and ET5 has become a backwater battle that Weilai can't afford to lose.
The two highlights of ET5 are extremely lethal
Driver assistance and intelligent cockpit are the two highlights of ET5, and will also become the biggest weapon for ET5 to gallop the domestic electric vehicle market.
The NAD (NIO Autonomous Driving) function with lidar has become the biggest highlight of the ET5. Based on the 1016TOPS computing power composed of 4 Orins, the system includes a lidar with a maximum detection distance of 250m at 10% reflectivity, 11 8-megapixel HD cameras, and 5 millimeter-wave radars, which has become one of the biggest highlights of the ET5 in terms of configuration. For the current Weilai, after Xiaopeng has mass-produced solid-state lidar on the P5, Weilai also urgently needs to deploy lidar as soon as possible to expand the use of NAD functions from highways to urban road conditions. In the case that lidar has been installed in more and more models in China, it is difficult to rely on those SUV models based on the NT1.0 platform alone to carry the banner of Weilai siege. After all, the ES8 and ES6, which do not have lidar, inherently have a big gap in the experience of driving assistance functions compared with competitors.
From the network
In addition to the driver assistance functions, another highlight of the ET5 is the PanoCinema (NIO Panoramic Digital Cockpit) with AR/VR technology as standard in the entire series. The PanoCinema Nio Panorama Digital Cockpit features AR/VR equipment and technology, 256-color digital light curtain mood lights, and a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound system to provide users with an all-sensory immersive experience. Among them, it is particularly worth mentioning that NIO has cooperated with NREAL, an innovative AR technology company, to jointly develop NIO exclusive AR glasses weighing only 76 grams, which can project a visual distance of 6 meters, equivalent to a 201-inch large screen. At the same time, NIO has also cooperated with Nolo to develop NIO VR Glasses, which can achieve binocular 4K display by using ultra-thin Pancake optical lenses.
In terms of three-electric system, ET5 is also at the forefront of the market segment. In terms of mileage, ET5 is equipped with a standard battery pack (75kWh) CLTC with a range of more than 550 kilometers, which is enough to meet people's daily travel needs; while the long-lasting battery pack (100kWh) has a range of more than 700 kilometers, and the ultra-long battery pack (150kWh) has a range of more than 1000 kilometers, which makes the driver no longer have the anxiety of travel. As for the power, the ET5 is equipped with a dual-motor intelligent four-wheel drive system, the maximum power of the vehicle is 360 kilowatts, 480 horsepower, the peak torque is 700 Nm, and the acceleration from zero to 100 kilometers is 4.3 seconds. Although 4.3 seconds is not the best in an electric car, it is enough for the driver to feel the rushing travel experience.
Who exactly are ET5's competitors?
There is no doubt that NIO has set a very competitive price for ET5. The purpose of setting a low price is also obvious, that is, to increase the overall sales of Weilai in the shortest possible time. This practice is actually a stimulant for ET5, which may work in a short period of time, but in the long run, this may not be a better strategy. In fact, the logic behind this is very simple, in front of ET5, Weilai's flagship sedan ET7 seems to have no cost performance at all. The ET5 can achieve the same driver assistance features as the ET7 at a much lower price. Although the interior space of the car is much smaller, the wheelbase of the ET5 2888mm is enough for a family of three. The configuration of smart cockpit and electric suction door also makes ET5 appear sincere. But the more sincere it is, the more it will affect the sales of ET7. If ET7 is marginalized, just as ES8 is now marginalized, it is certainly not a phenomenon that Weilai is happy to see.
For ET5, Tesla Model 3, BYD Han and Xiaopeng P7, and even the extreme Krypton 001 that has just begun to be delivered are the main competitors of ET5, but these models are distinctive, each has its own fans, leaving aside the Model 3, the remaining models are relatively not the largest sales base, ET5 to grab market share from these competitors, the difficulty is self-evident. Therefore, if ET5 wants to make Weilai's sales reach a new level, it must grab sales from the fuel vehicle market. The price of 250,000 is the medium and high price of the mainstream joint venture brand B-class car, and even the price of the luxury brand entry-level sedan. For Weilai, only by tapping the market share of fuel vehicles can we ensure that Weilai's sales growth has unlimited potential.
The influence of sub-brands needs to be balanced by Wei
At present, NIO is actively building its own sub-brand. With the announcement of ET5 pricing, the price of sub-brand models may drop below 200,000 in the future.
For Weilai, there is also a problem that needs to be considered, with the increase of terminal ownership, how can Weilai ensure that the existing service level is not degraded, which is a big problem. Compared with the model and technology, NIO's greater advantage is to provide users with the ultimate customer service. I have seen relevant reports before that a Weilai car owner may have a total of more than a dozen consultants in a group to provide relevant services for it. Once there is a problem, the owner can directly respond to various problems in the APP @ Li Bin, Qin Lihong and other Weilai executives. However, this service is based on the huge investment of Weilai, and with the continuous increase of Weilai car owners, in order to ensure that the customer experience does not decline, it means that more funds need to be invested. These problems may reach a new peak after the launch of ET5, and then weilai will be needed to balance investment and services. As for the sub-brand of Weilai, although we have not yet seen the relevant models, but to create a new sales channel, even the APP has to be rebuilt has been confirmed by relevant people.
Whether Weilai's sub-brand can sell well, pricing is the key. And even if the pricing is very competitive, it is also a kind of consumption of the Weilai brand. This is actually similar to Geely and Volvo: Geely created the Lynk & Co brand, and it and Volvo's entry-level 40 model use the same brand. Then we can see that Lynk & Co's sales in China are gradually increasing, but Volvo has not made any achievements in the most expensive entry-level models. In particular, ABB's compact SUV, which sells well, has become a pain point on volvo's side. After all, for consumers, why not buy the more cost-effective Lynk & Co 01?
The delivery of ET5 in September next year must have surprised many people. This model is more cost-effective, and then we need to worry about whether Weilai's production capacity can be matched. Especially in this year, the core shortage crisis that affects many car companies is expected to continue in 2022. At that time, how to overcome the impact of lack of cores, I believe it will become a bigger problem than ET5 to increase terminal sales. But in the case of a favorable end market, WEILAI needs to plan for its long-term goals: what position does ET7 need to be placed in? How can a sub-brand be distinguished from the NIO brand? These difficult questions have yet to be answered in 2022, and the task on Li Bin's shoulders is not easy.