After entering the Norwegian market last year, NIO has turned more attention to Europe and intends to further expand its globalization layout.
On October 8, NIO held the NIO Berlin conference in Berlin, Germany, and launched three models: EL7 (ie domestic ES7), ET7 and ET5.
Different from China, Weilai also announced that these models will be open for booking in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden through a subscription model, with a minimum lease of 1 month, and long-term rental vehicles can be customized for a fixed period of 12-60 months. Subscription period.
The fall of this chess piece is also NIO’s ambition to break through Europe.
"Serving users in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden is an important step for NIO to realize its 2025 plan and serve users in more countries around the world," said Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO.
However, Li Bin also admitted in an interview that day that the European market is the home field of competitors, and the competition is cruel.
"The subscription model launched by NIO is essentially a lease." Zhang Xiang, a specially-appointed expert from the China Bolian Think Tank and a visiting professor at the Yellow River University of Science and Technology, said that this model can lower the threshold for car use and is easy for European consumers to experience, but the monthly subscription Whether the model can be recognized by luxury car users still needs the test of time.
In Zhang Xiang's view, there have also been "forecast lessons" that car brands have entered the European market but have not developed as expected. Whether NIO can open the market in Europe is affected by various factors, and the development is uncertain.
To seize the European market, Weilai opens the subscription model
According to Weilai's plan, it will provide short-term and long-term subscription service models in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
Among them, short-term subscription includes subscription two weeks in advance, cancellation of the current month subscription at any time two weeks in advance, and arbitrary replacement of vehicles. As the age of the vehicle increases, the monthly fee will be reduced accordingly.
In contrast, long-term subscriptions can only choose one model, but enjoy a lower fixed subscription price, and the subscription period ranges from 12 to 60 months.
After the subscription expires, the user does not terminate the subscription, and the subscription is automatically renewed in accordance with the flexible subscription terms.
"The launch of the subscription model has been considered for a long time." As for adopting a business model different from that in the Chinese market, Li Bin said in an interview with Shell Finance and other media that because of differences in taxation systems and consumption habits, in the European market, high-end models add subscriptions This model has a high acceptance.
The decision to launch a subscription model is based on taxes and user habits, but NIO will not enter the rental (refer to "daily rental") market, only offering monthly rentals and "subscriptions" ranging from 12 months to 60 months.
Li Bin said that Weilai hopes to simplify the interface of user services and turn the car into a service through various attempts.
Adopting the "subscription model" will help NIO quickly enter the European market, especially in the early stage, allowing the NIO European operation team to focus on the core business as much as possible, reducing intermediate links and improving the company's system efficiency.
"In Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, we will also use the method of directly serving users to establish a sales and service network." Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of Weilai Automobile, revealed that Weilai's Weilai Center in Berlin is about to open. NIO centers in cities such as Hamburg, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg will also be built and put into use.
"The subscription model launched by Weilai is essentially a lease." Zhang Xiang said that this model can reduce the threshold for car use and facilitate the experience of European consumers, but whether the monthly subscription model can be recognized by luxury car users still needs to be test of time.
"Generally speaking, this model is more suitable for economy cars, and for luxury cars, if this model does not work, it will have a greater impact on the value of the vehicle."
In fact, before NIO, Geely Automobile's Lynk & Co brand had adopted a "subscription model" in the European market.
But unlike NIO, Lynk & Co has not abandoned the traditional sales model while adopting the "subscription model".
In this regard, Li Bin believes that the "subscription model" is more complicated than the sales model. After the local team, infrastructure construction and service system are more mature, "selling a car is just an option", and it will be easy to increase the option of selling a car. But going from selling a car to a subscription isn't easy.
Compared with the Lynk & Co brand, although the subscription prices of NIO’s three models in Germany, the Netherlands and other four countries are basically at the industry average level, compared with car companies that provide services based on traditional 4S dealerships, NIO’s subscription prices in Europe are higher. Self-operated sales, swap stations and service networks all require a lot of real money investment, and the heavy asset burden and initial investment brought by this model will also become a major challenge to whether it can achieve profitability.
Weilai has drawn a blueprint in the field of energy supplementation – by the end of 2022, it will build 20 power exchange stations in Europe; by the end of 2023, it aims to build 120 power stations.
By 2025, NIO plans to build 1,000 swap stations in markets outside China, most of which will be in Europe.
"Reaching into the base camp of competitors", low popularity is a hurdle
For the European market, NIO has always attached great importance to it.
Li Bin once said in interviews on different occasions that Weilai's competitors are not Tesla, but BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi; in China's high-end car market, Weilai's goal is to compete with "BBA" "There is one third in the world."
In July this year, NIO established an innovation center in Berlin for the research and development of smart cockpits, autonomous driving and energy technologies.
As for NIO's advanced safety assistance and autonomous driving functions, at the NIO Berlin conference, NIO revealed that it had started assisted driving tests in Europe as early as last April, and that NIO had set up an assisted driving test and development center in Berlin.
In September of this year, NIO Energy’s European plant in Pest, Hungary completed the rollout of its first power station. and R&D center.
Li Bin said that serving users in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden is an important step for NIO to realize its 2025 plan and serve users in more countries around the world.
But at the same time, the competition in the European market is brutal, and it is the home field of competitors.
"Their grasp of the psychological needs of users and their understanding of the market must be much deeper than ours. In terms of accumulation, service network, supply chain system, etc., compared with them, we are still elementary school students, and we need to learn and catch up. "
Qin Lihong, president of Weilai Automobile, also said that Weilai does not have any idea of "conquering Germany" or "entering the base camp of competitors". Germany is an inevitable market for Weilai to enter Europe.
"Compared with other countries in Europe, the scale of high-end cars in Germany is larger. Entering Germany is a rational business choice, not because competitors are here. This is not an emotional decision." Qin Lihong said.
According to IHS data, from January to August this year, the world's new energy passenger vehicle sales reached 7.83 million, and China's new energy passenger vehicles accounted for 38.6% of the market; Europe was the second largest market, accounting for 27.2%.
According to data released by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, Germany is the largest automobile market in Europe, and the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in 2021 is 26%; while the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden exceeded 30% last year.
"Europe's demand for new energy vehicles is still relatively large, and it is also a good opportunity for China to export." Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the Passenger Federation, believes that China has a relatively advanced advantage in new energy technology, so China's new energy exports have relatively There is a lot of space, and because Europe is currently in a state of relatively tight resources, the demand for vehicles is relatively large, and some policy support has brought huge opportunities for China's new energy vehicle exports.
Cui Dongshu pointed out that in the future, Chinese self-owned brands need to effectively improve their technology to participate in international competition to ensure that product technology and standards meet European standards. New energy vehicle products must be improved according to the individual needs of European users. Better satisfaction; at the same time, it is necessary to establish a good use environment overseas, and whether it is charging facilities or after-sales maintenance, an effective guarantee mechanism must be established to ensure car satisfaction.
To change the passive situation of guerrilla warfare in automobile exports, China's new energy vehicle exports must build a good reputation and credibility in the European market.
"Weilai is not well-known in the European market, and European consumers are not familiar enough with Weilai. Although entering the market with a subscription model can reduce the threshold for car use, it must have sufficient ownership to generate a certain degree of popularity. Higher costs will be incurred. However, from a technical point of view, compared with Chinese car brands, European car brands have a late start and a slower pace in electrification and intelligence, and NIO still has a certain degree of competitiveness.” Zhang Xiang said.
Beijing News Shell Finance reporter Zhang Bing