Li Bin gambled "upward".

Author | Chai Xuchen

Edit | Zhou Zhiyu

Following BYD's look up to U8, ZEEKR 001FR, and Haobo SSR, there is another strong "million-level" player in the camp of domestic flagship luxury cars.

At NIO DAY on December 23, NIO's long-awaited new flagship ET9 was unveiled, which also responds to NIO's "upward" theme. By releasing the ET9, the most expensive and niche of NIO's mass-produced models, Li Bin declared war on BBA's flagship luxury cars such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. He tried to arm himself with his own technology and launched an attack on the BBA core fortress.

Especially through the "Champagne Tower" demonstration video, which is quite out of the circle, NIO showed off its own chassis technical strength. Smoothly passing through bumpy sections, the four-story champagne tower is not tilted, and the champagne does not overflow, and the ET9 claims to be equipped with the world's only fully controlled intelligent chassis.

Originally, chassis tuning has always been a proud ability of traditional luxury car companies. It is also the housekeeping skill in the hands of traditional car companies after the "three major parts" of traditional cars are subverted by the "three electric technology" of new energy vehicles. Whether a car is sporty or comfortable, chassis tuning determines the character of the car and is the soul of driving pleasure.

Today, NIO has grasped the ICC (Intelligent Chassis Domain Controller) technology in its hands and realized the innovation of chassis technology. In addition, the self-developed intelligent driving chip, 5C cylindrical battery, 900V architecture, etc., were all displayed at NIO DAY. Qin Lihong, president of NIO, said in Versailles that the ET9's capabilities were only demonstrated by one-third, but this is already a huge technological gap.

In the past, when talking about the foundation of NIO, the first impression of the market was that NIO was good at customer service. Although it emphasizes its own technology research and development capabilities to enhance the tone of the luxury brand, whether it is the ET7 against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class or the ET5 against the BMW 3 Series, the performance is not as good as expected.

Although in 2016, the NIO EP9, priced at $1.48 million, was unveiled, but the car was limited to six units and was only sold to major NIO investors such as Lei Jun, Liu Qiangdong and Ma Huateng. For NIO, the EP9, which cannot be listed on the road and can only be galloped on a closed track, is a technical signboard, which is more meaningful to show off its skills than to be based on revenue and financial considerations.

Li Bin tried to strengthen the technical background of NIO, so that ET9 can use the capital of electric vehicles to fight a bloody way in the flagship luxury car camp, and further enhance the brand tone of NIO, and then reflect it in the financial report through the brand premium.

Li Bin emphasized that the administrative flagship is also a technological flagship, and such a product cannot be established without technology. Adhering to positive R&D, NIO also has a very low-level full-stack self-R&D layout. This is the real NIO.

With ET9, a "crystallization of technological innovation", NIO has also improved its product array. From the ET5, ET7 to ET9, NIO has formed a product array similar to Mercedes-Benz's C-Class, E-Class and S-Class.

The flagship luxury car camp of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class has always been a difficult position for electric vehicles to conquer. Gasoline models such as the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi A8L and Porsche Panamera dominate the market. Even BBA's own electric vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7 have not been able to open up the situation. Last year, the best-selling tram in China's 800,000-class market was the Porsche Taycan, with only 3,292 units sold.

"NIO must enter the luxury car market dominated by high-end models such as Maybach, BMW 7 Series and Paramela. Otherwise, our profits and brand ceilings will be limited." Li Bin also believes that the executive flagship is the core base and brand cornerstone of BBA, and it is also a height that Chinese brands have not been able to reach.

Industry insiders pointed out that due to the stable development of technology and slow product iteration, the luxury market pattern is extremely stable, and the brands on the spire can earn 20%-30% of the profits. Li Bin bluntly said, "For every S-class sold by Mercedes-Benz, it may be equal to the gross profit of selling dozens of A-class cars."

McKinsey predicts that the luxury car market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 8%-14% by 2031 as the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals continues to increase, and the higher the price range, the higher the growth rate. It's a mouth-watering space for the imagination.

If the ET9 successfully crosses the threshold of the flagship luxury market, NIO will have more room for imagination and will be able to better tell the story of its replacement of BBA.

The difficulty lies in whether it can truly achieve the absolute leadership of product power, so that a pure electric product can be accepted by the flagship luxury market. But the answer will not emerge until it is delivered in the first quarter of 2025.

However, the flagship luxury market is also changing. Looking up to the U8 after the launch, the myth of Mercedes-Benz big G and BMW X7 price increases is no longer there, and there is also a shadow of new energy vehicles in the top 5 camp of monthly sales of flagship luxury cars.

This means that with the blessing of technical advantages and brand influence, domestic new energy vehicles can also become a symbol of status in the past "pomp and face" market. In addition, BYD has also opened up the luxury car market through its self-developed capabilities, while supporting the sales of the mass market with technology.

This is also the reason why NIO, which is trapped in sales, has not yet launched a sub-brand for the sinking market, but has to launch ET9 first.

NIO needs to seize this opportunity to replicate BYD's path to success. Through the ET9, the executive flagship model, it played the "technology card", and then "decentralized" the technology to the mid-range model to harvest sales. Qin Lihong revealed that some of the technologies on the ET9 can be used for sub-brands, and after the launch of MPV, the price can be 150,000 yuan cheaper than "a well-known independent brand", and it can still be profitable.

Li Bin's "Yang Scheme" for the explosion of NIO's high-end pure electric market and the upward trend of the brand is slowly unfolding.

It's also a big gamble. Whether it is bringing in Middle Eastern tycoons twice, or even being willing to give up the seat of the largest shareholder, Li Bin wants NIO to have enough funds to go through the changes in the industry cycle with the mentality of a long-distance runner. This also requires him to keep the rudder on this road at all times to avoid hitting the reef.

In the past few years, Li Bin has walked to the edge of the cliff several times, but he firmly believes that NIO has the prototype of a global car giant. Li Bin believes that among the top ten car companies in the world in 2035, NIO will be one of them.

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