In 2019, Weilai was labeled the most miserable enterprise in China, and Li Bin was labeled as the most miserable man in China.
Two years on, 2021 is coming to an end, what has happened to the worst companies and the worst men of the past?
Once the most miserable, now back to what it should be: clear, calm, calm, but not easy.......
Late at night after the end of NIO Day 2021, Li Bin and Qin Lihong accepted a joint interview with media such as "Car One Circle" & "Playing Car Emperor", chatting about the past, present and future of Weilai: From the most tragic to calm, Weilai turned into the 2.0 era, where is the future?
Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO; Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO.
Weilai turning point: from the most miserable to calm
Compared with the "worst" in 2019, how have the last two years been?
"I think 2021 is a landmark year for NIO." Li Bin said frankly that this year is a turning point for Weilai, "it is a year to do it again." ”
"Never seen any NIO Day interview after the end of the two of you so relaxed!" When "One Circle of Cars" & "Playing With Cars" threw out such a topic, Qin Lihong replied easily and happily: "Seeing that you are old friends of (media) car owners immediately relaxed!" ”
The interview that night was originally scheduled to last an hour from 22:00 to 23:00, but finally began 10 minutes earlier and ended 20 minutes later. To put it simply, the media asked positive questions, Li Bin and Qin Lihong answered the questions in a very good state, at least it felt much better than the previous state of "anxious eyebrows" most of the time, this time it seemed: relaxed, confident, calm... At least by answering the question with laughter and the expression between the eyebrows, it can be well judged.
The "NIO Day 2021" held at the Suzhou Olympic Sports Center on the evening of December 18 is the fifth time in the history of NIO Day. This year, the scale of the site was originally planned to reach 8,000 people, but due to the needs of epidemic prevention and control, the number of participants was reduced by 3,000 as it approached.
NIO Day began with the first launch of the NIO brand in December 2017, and has since been an annual, almost unchanged time, the city has toured Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu and this year's Suzhou, the content mainly includes two parts: the owner of the big PARTY + blockbuster new car release.
From its founding in 2014 to 2021, it is understandable that Weilai has gone through a complete 7 years. The 7-year itch exists in the logic of the enterprise: the probability of 3 years of death is larger, if 3 years of not dying, look at the 7-year hurdle, if 7 years of not dying, the hope of survival is greater. According to this logic, Weilai should have survived the catastrophe of life and death and entered the 2.0 era.
Looking back on the past two years, Weilai can be described as ups and downs! I almost died at the beginning of last year (2020), then encountered an epidemic again, and then came back a little. Anyway, all kinds, have not yet reacted, it is the end of the year. By the end of the year, WEILAI released ET7.
Li Bin said that in 2021, he will really start to do himself again, and it is only in 2021 that he will have the opportunity to really start to be himself. Originally, Weilai was like this, including the substation and the cattle house, which was also stopped in 2019 and 2020, and there were some post-traumatic sequelae. "The main thing I said inside the company last year was to prevent post-traumatics, and there's a word called PTSD, to prevent this. A lot was mobilized last year. 2021 can not be called post-traumatic sequelae, hurry up and work. In 2021, the replacement of power stations, at the beginning of the year, said that 500 were built at the end of the year, and 733 have been built now, which is not the same thing as the Great Leap Forward, which is called long-term investment. ”
The words of Li Bin and Qin Lihong's conversation revealed a feeling to "Car One Circle" & "Playing With Car Emperor": in the past 7 years, It was Weilai who "fought + groped" on the road of innovation, and now it is basically clear that this track is clear and ready to meet various challenges, and will make great strides forward.
From the most tragic to the calm forward posture, Weilai is turning into the 2.0 development era.
WEILAI speeds up: multiple indicators double
Weilai, this year and next year a number of indicators have been or will be doubled, the signs of acceleration are obvious.
From the initial delivery of a new car per year, to the listing of two new cars a year this year, and then to the delivery of more than two new cars next year, the speed of NIO's product competition for the market has accelerated significantly.
The layout of the charging and replacing the power station, Weilai will further accelerate the pace. It was originally planned to build 500 substations by the end of 2021, but now it has exceeded 730 and will reach about 750 by the end of the year. The Weilai replacement power station, which has almost stopped construction in 2019 and 2020, has seen rapid expansion this year in 2021. "Next year the guarantee will reach 1300 seats!" Qin Lihong said that the construction speed of the substation will be faster and faster. At the same time, charging stations and charging piles will also develop rapidly: next year, the supercharge pile will double, and the destination pile will be 3.5 times. At present, WEILAI has built more than 90,000 home piles.
In addition to the high-end brand of Weilai, Weilai will also launch a brand that is "oriented to mass consumption", and the release time of this brand, Li Bin said: "Released when the car is delivered quickly. "The industry believes that this mass consumer brand will definitely be released in the next 1-2 years."
In terms of overseas markets, WEILAI's exports will also accelerate: next year it will enter Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and other countries, and in 2025, it will export more than 25 countries, including the United States.
It is understood that the number of R & D personnel has doubled from more than 2,000 at the beginning of this year to a small increase of 3,000, most of them are R & D personnel, Germany's R & D center, the United States R & D center, and then worked hard to build.
After the launch of the ET5, various indications were that it could compete with the Tesla Model 3. When will there be a model like the Model 3 that sells tens of thousands of units a month? "We're really not in such a hurry!" In the face of the explosion of a single product, Li Bin said: Automobile is an industry that emphasizes long-termism, and we should first make the foundation a little solid.
Product acceleration, replacement power station speed,brand increase, overseas speed increase, team expansion, explosive models are expected All indications show that Weilai, which has entered the 2.0 era, is accelerating.
NIO's goal: to target the world
Where is Weilai, which is speeding forward, about to run? What is the goal of quantification? Goal: Global, long-term strategy.
"I think it's a long road. And I feel that it may not be until 2024 and 2025 that the competitive pattern of this industry will basically take shape, even if the results are, it cannot be called the dust settled, and the initial formation should be almost around 2030. So from now to 2030, we will never just look at China, we are the global market. Li Bin said that even if 2 million vehicles are achieved, it is only about 10% of China's passenger car market, and the number and profit are not short-term goals.
"Every time I think about the users of fuel trucks, which account for 80 or 90 percent, I get excited. When you encounter a treasure, you hate that the spoon you brought with you is small and can't be dug. This excites us! Qin Lihong said that the next Weilai will be full of firepower, and the state will be significantly better than the past seven years.
"The tram share has gone from 20% to 90% today, and Norway has been in the last three or four years. Now that China's tram share is approaching 20%, we should feel that the spring of electric vehicles is not far away. In the face of the worst man in 2019, Li Bin said, "The mood and state should be better, but now it is busier and has more white hair!" ”
Li Bin frankly said that although he is more calm and calm, the problem that needs to be overcome in the future may not be technology, products and capital, perhaps how to improve the efficiency of global collaboration after the expansion of the team, and the maintenance of consistency of high-quality service standards after the expansion of the customer group. This, we understand, as the annoyance of happiness, because this is the problem that any enterprise will encounter on the road to globalization: the global collaboration efficiency of the team and the consistency of global standards for service.
In a word, the problem that WEILAI will face in the future will not be simple problems such as technology, products and capital, but the problem of globalization, and more of a global "people" problem: the team and customers. Of course, there may be others.