Last night, located in Shanghai, where the temperature is suitable and the summer has just begun, Ledao Automobile officially walked to the front of the stage.
It is no exaggeration to say that this may be the most anticipated press conference after the launch of Xiaomi SU7 on March 28, Beijing time.
And about the protagonist of today's article, I would like to share three stories at the beginning.
If I am not mistaken, the first time I met Ai Tiecheng, the head of the brand, was in the rest area on the second floor of the NIO booth at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2023. After just taking a photo and talking a few words in a hurry, I can already feel the sincerity in his bones.
Looking at Ai Tiecheng's professional resume, he is also a "layman who makes cars", so can he really take the helm of the second brand that cannot be lost to NIO?
At that time, no answer was found.
Taking advantage of the trend, at the end of 2023, after experiencing all kinds of twists and turns and uncertainties, NIO, which was frantically tortured by the Chinese auto market, held a core media communication meeting, and Li Bin's words were equally impressive.
"When the second brand entered the market, although the VB car had already rolled off the assembly line, we were not in a hurry. According to the previous VB car after the assembly line to the release, the pace is usually relatively fast, we have decided to wait for a while, let everyone roll a roll first, and then we will come in and flip the table at the end. ”
Between the words, there is a lot of confidence.
But in a jungle full of thorns, how can it be so easy to grab meat to eat, trying to "strike backward and win with one blow"? Anyone can stand the flag, the key is whether it can be landed.
At that time, doubts were still rising.
As everyone knows, just last week, slower than expected, NIO ushered in another key milestone - the 500,000th new car off the assembly line. In the subsequent interview session, the "trio" of Li Bin, Qin Lihong, and Ai Tiecheng gathered in front of everyone for the first time.
"Ledao is more mature than imagined in many systems, and I think Ledao is truly born and mature, and it is mature in the end-to-end experience of the whole chain."
After participating in the whole session, the most impressive statement came from Qin Lihong.
But from a rational and objective point of view, even veterans will inevitably make mistakes, and the difficulty of a new brand's "debut is the peak" is clearly placed there.
At that time, there was still a lot of confusion.
The above three stories that span more than 400 days, and the corresponding three sets of questions, constitute my general outline of the protagonist of today's article. Fortunately, thankfully, after last night, everything unknown gradually has a clearer frame.
First of all, about Ai Tiecheng.
I have to admit that after making up for it, I suddenly felt that he had adapted well to the involution and cruelty of the Chinese car circle. His resume at Disney also coincides with the brand concept of "every road with his family is a happy road".
In terms of the performance of the whole press conference, from the slight nervousness when he first appeared on the stage, to the gradual improvement after that, it can be said that the helmsman of Ledao has completed the task assigned to him by Li Bin amazingly.
What's even more surprising is that as the second brand of NIO, perhaps without the constraints of keywords such as "high-end", "luxury", "business", and "executive", Ledao has completely let itself go.
Every sentence of copywriting, every video, and even every sentence of stalk thrown by Ai Tiecheng in PPT reveals groundedness and aggression everywhere.
It is undeniable that Ledao is a little less gentle and more aggressive.
But such a change is undoubtedly what everyone wants to see. After all, to enter the mainstream market, there is absolutely no salute before the soldiers, only to tear the skin when you come up.
Secondly, about Ledao L60.
In fact, combined with its official introduction, it has been able to explain its product power more perfectly.
Ledao L60 provides high-frequency and high-perception experience value for family users in six aspects, including all-round safety, comfortable space, intelligent cockpit, battery life and energy supplement, driving experience, and intelligent driving.
And if it is summarized in the vernacular that everyone can understand, it is: "Ledao L60 is a pure electric coupe SUV that beats Model Y in all directions." ”
From styling design, to interior language, to driving space, to endurance and energy consumption, to intelligent driving and intelligent cabin, it has achieved transcendence at the parameter level and static level.
At the same time, the energy supplement system that NIO is proud of is also delegated to Ledao L60 to the greatest extent.
And last night, Ai Tiecheng shouted out a pre-sale price of 219,900 yuan.
Ledao L60 seems to have completely defeated the previous expectations of the outside world, and you must know that the secret weapon of "BaaS vehicle and electricity separation" has not been sacrificed, and it will definitely be able to pull its entry threshold lower at that time.
In addition, the official launch and delivery of Ledao L60 were fixed in September this year. In other words, there is plenty of room for it to continue to adjust.
Anyway, after a press conference, I slowly understood where Li Bin had the confidence and set the flag of "taking the lead and winning with one blow".
At least for now, the offensive shown by Ledao L60 is enough to afford this ambition. Qin Lihong's "born and mature" also has very convincing arguments.
However, judging from a calm and objective point of view, the protagonist of today's article is not without flaws and challenges.
For example, whether it is admitted or not, the entry of the Ledao L60 will definitely have a greater or lesser impact on the SUV models of NIO's own brand, and the dilemma of "playing with each other" is likely to be unavoidable.
For example, because the ET5 was too painful in the past, Ledao L60 officially opened the ability of the manufacturing end after delivery, or the ramp-up speed of production capacity, as well as the number of channels, determined its sales ceiling.
For example, the market segment that Ledao L60 cuts into will be a sector that will be a sector for the strong players in China's auto market this year.
From the suddenly airborne AVATR 07, to the first orthodox SUV of ZEEKR, to the SUV with Huawei's endorsement of Zhijie, and then to the new version of Tesla Model Y, every product is its unavoidable enemy, and no one dares to say that it will win.
For example, Ledao L60 must face the shrinking demand for pure electric models from end consumers this year, including the cooling of the consumption environment.
For example, although it seems to be armed to the teeth, Ledao L60 still has a long way to go if it wants to pull down the Tesla Model Y in the real sense......
At this point, I throw out the last point, which is also the title of today's article: "NIO is happy, it must be iron." ”
Because, only in this way, many stubborn diseases that have been criticized can be solved; The heavy shackles on Li Bin's shoulders could be slowly removed.
In short, Ledao is a matter of life and death, there is no room for compromise, and it is definitely a battle that cannot be lost. And NIO has been established for nearly 10 years, and it is time to reap some fruits of victory.
Otherwise, what kind of car will be built?
And just this morning, Li Bin and Ai Tiecheng will sit in the interview room again and accept everyone's torture.
Let's see how they respond.