In an interview after the NIO Day 2021 meeting, Weilai founder Li Bin said that the current Weilai is a bit like Tesla in 2017. Before 2017, Tesla did not lack core technology, did not lack brand image, did not lack user reputation, and did not lack ecological layout. When Tesla has done all the bottom layers, what is missing is the scale of a foot in the door.
At this time, a Model 3 was hot, and Tesla built a tall building at a very fast speed after laying all the "piles". Whether it is the rapid sales growth or the rocket-style increase in market value, it is only the result of Tesla's recognition.
The same is true for NIO. When NIO has a deep layout in the whole life cycle of services, digital experience, and lifestyle beyond cars, how to make these foundations laid by system capabilities blossom in the consumer market also needs to rely on scale to ignite this lead.
And this model is likely to be the NIO ET5 released on the 2021 NIO Day.
ET5 is the second car under the new car-making force, compared with Weilai's previous models, it is small, good-looking, and the price is also much lower - the starting price of 328,000 yuan, the body form of a medium-sized coupe, and the uncompromising user experience, ET5 attracts many users because of its product strength.
But at a deeper level, it is precisely because WEILAI has always insisted on competing with system capabilities, for users, Weilai has a high value beyond the vehicle itself, and the recognition of WEILAI is also the brand first.
At this time, if a suitable Weilai model appears, no matter which single point in the system has high interest, it will promote its consumption behavior.
And when a model with explosive potential is released, it can establish a user scale at a very fast speed and support all the previous layouts. With a more entry-level price, a more universal product definition, and uncompromising product power, THE ET5 covers a new consumer group that has rarely been touched by NIO's previous models, and is an important puzzle to achieve this strategic goal.
The scale growth under the system capability is healthy growth; the system ability under the scale will accelerate the layout of the user's whole experience to form a closed loop. But tracing back to the source, this complementarity is because Weilai thought things clearly at the beginning, and used forward-looking and strategic determination to get to today's results, can it surpass Musk's Tesla?
We'll see.