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3 The Strategic Focus of NIO

Shen Tao

Abstract :Founded in 2014,NIO,the first member of China's new car-making force,released the fastest electric supercar EP9 for the first time in 2016,taking a top-down route and positioning itself in the middle and high-end market.In 2018,NIO became the first Chinese new energy vehicle to go public in the United States.In 2020,NIO's market value exceeded $ 100 billion,once surpassing BMW,General Motors and Ford.In the list of the world's top 100 most valuable automobile brands in 2020,NIO was listed for the first time,basically laying the leading position of domestic new energy vehicles.By November 27,2022,NIO has built 330 high-speed power changing stations in China,and completed the layout of high- power changing network in six urban agglomerations,five vertical and three horizontal.With its strategic advantages,NIO continues to morph and develop in the market.

Key words :strategic focus;NIO;competitiveness

Part Ⅰ Case

Founded in 2014,NIO has been developing rapidly for less than a decade.In the past year,the new energy automobile industry has been characterized by rapid iteration of new technologies,rapid changes in the external environment,and constant rotation of the market pattern,and NIO has also put forward the idea of “not forgetting the original intention and moving forward” and insisted on continuing to build the “competitiveness of the system” on the occasion of the 8th anniversary of the founding.

1.System competitiveness of NIO in 2022

(1) Adhere to system competitiveness.

In December 2022,Qin Lihong,co-founder and president of NIO,said at the media conference that when he and Li Bin talked about the start-up project of NIO in August 2014,Li Bin opened the excel table he had made.“The cost of the changing station,the average number of each station,how many people guard,ten years later,how much will the labor cost,and so on he has calculated.” Qin Lihong bluntly:“ Today back to evaluate that excel sheet,80 percent of the direction is still working on.” In this regard,Qin Lihong believes that any company should keep forward-looking,stand together with the trend,have their own vision,believe in it,and spend a long time to practice and iterate it.

On the day of the media communication meeting,NIO showed a “ compass”about the system competitiveness of NIO in 2022.This “compass” is not only the strategy of NIO,but also the specific methodology to realize the strategy.In terms of strategy,NIO has always been following the long-term doctrine,which is based on the analysis of the evolution of the automobile industry over the past 100 years.It has developed strategies in line with its own situation and successively innovated design modes,so as to make it fall within a system competitiveness“compass”.

Eight years after the establishment of NIO,the strategic direction and framework displayed by this system competitiveness“ compass” have not changed,but the tactical level has become more and more refined.Everything NIO does in 2022 can actually be mapped to every part of the compass — the car,the full life cycle of services,the digital experience,the lifestyle beyond the car.The innermost circle of the “compass” of NIO system competitiveness is the content of the three original intentions of NIO,the middle circle redefines the user experience from four aspects,and the outermost layer is the application layer,including intelligence,energy,mobile phone,user community and other aspects.Taking the changes at the center of the Compass in 2022 as an example,Qin Lihong pointed out that there will be seven major changes in this circle,which are:actively expanding the capital market,firmly carrying out comprehensive self-research,starting the vertical integration of the industrial chain,copying the whole system and launching in Europe,starting the subscription model,planning and preparing for new car brands,and starting to consider new products and categories around cars.From the perspective of capital market expansion,NIO was listed and traded in New York,Hong Kong and Singapore in the first half of this year,becoming the world's first auto company listed in three capital market.“We have already got three tickets to the capital market,which gives us the possibility for the next step.” said Mr Qin.In terms of research and development expenses,NIO invested 2.94 billion yuan in research and development in the third quarter of this year,a record high in a single quarter.“Research and development spending of 3 billion yuan a quarter is the work of companies many times our size and delivery volume.In the case of NIO,I basically think that I have done my best.Without three tickets to the capital markets,you may not dare to do that.” Qin Lihong compared the above layer to the intelligent system:“The inner circle is the underlying chip and architecture level,the middle is the system software level,and the outside is the application level.The application level has been tweaked in practice over the years,either by additions or experiments.There are a few tweaks every year,but it's pretty much here.”

When it comes to the loss issue concerned by the outside world,Qin Lihong also bluntly said:“Although NIO is a loss making company,our loss is research and development,and research and development is to gain the possibility of tomorrow.We always regard it as tuition fees.Different families have different views on whether to save their children's tuition fees.We are unconscious,and we are what we are.” Qin Lihong thinks that he is often imitated and learned by his friends:“Everyone is willing to observe and follow,which I personally think is a good thing.It means we.re right.You invest so much money and do so many things,it's not good if there's no one else to do it.The only way we can do that is to run fast and firmly,not wobbly and fast.”

(2) The effect of the system under uncertain environment appears initially.

Among the many uncertainties,the general trend toward electrification is certain.According to the China Passenger Federation,the retail sales of new-energy passenger vehicles in December 2022 reached 64 000 units,up 35.1% year-on-year and 6.5% month-on-month.From January to December 2022,the domestic retail sales of new energy passenger vehicles reached 5.674 million,up 90.0%year on year.In 2022,the new energy penetration rate of passenger vehicles reached 27.6%,an increase of 12.6 percentage points compared with 2021,while in 2020,the penetration rate of new energy vehicles was less than 6%.Qin Lihong said that three years ago,the current penetration rate of new energy vehicles is a number that practitioners could not hope for.

With the general trend of electrification and system competitiveness,NIO has achieved good sales performance since 2022 .“In the first 11 months of this year,NIO has delivered more than 100 000 cars in total.Although we are not the only new force that has delivered more than 100 000 cars annually this year,I still feel very impressed.In the world's largest auto market in China,high-end brands with an average price of more than 400 000 yuan have delivered more than 100 000 cars in total,we still feel a small sense of accomplishment.” On December 12,2022,Qin Lihong,co- founder and president of NIO,told China Business News and other media reporters.Qin Lihong,citing a market survey,said that in October 2022,the average transaction price of NIO brand was 466 000 yuan,exceeding Mercedes Benz's 460 400 yuan,BMW's 425 000 yuan,Lexus's 418 000 yuan and Audi's 320 000 yuan.Since the launch of the ES8 in 2017,NIO has set its price at around 400 000 yuan,which is rare among self- owned brands.Subsequently,ES6,EC6,ES7,ET7,ET5 and other models have been launched,the price is more than 300 000 yuan,the average transaction price is more than 400 000 yuan.Data showed that in November 2022,among high- end electric vehicle brands above 400 000 yuan,NIO ranked first with a sales share of 77.6%.In 2022,NIO ET7 delivered a total of 23 100 vehicles,with an average transaction price of nearly 500 000 yuan.“Of course,we don't know how long we can stand in it,but at least in this round of competition,I think NIO has given a passing answer.” Qin Lihong told the media.

2.Strategic selection

(1) Differentiation strategy.

Why NIO can seize the market of BBA (BMW,Mercedes-Benz and Audi),apart from the general trend of “oil to electricity”,it has an inseparable relationship with its initial high-end positioning and long-term persistence.For a long time,the high-end car market of more than 300 000 yuan has been dominated by foreign brands such as Mercedes-Benz,BMW and Cadillac,while few domestic brands have set foot in it.NIO targeted this market segment early on.Since its founding in 2014,NIO has positioned its products within this range.At the same time,the strong product force brought by the self-research ability of NIO and the whole system service for users are the magic weapon for it to maintain its high-end.

①Product power.

Qin Lihong has always believed that the higher the consumer goods,the more abundant they need.The more practical the market,the more focused the capability needs to be.Since its establishment,NIO has insisted on positive research and development.It is one of the few auto enterprises that adopt full-stack self-research on core technologies,including power battery,energy supply,intelligent driving system,etc.In addition to intelligent systems,technological innovation of NIO is also reflected in more levels,such as the high-end seat platform on the new ES8 unveiled by NIO Day,the full-stack self-developed autonomous driving NAD system,the new third-generation power station and so on,which are all manifestations of self-developed capabilities of NIO.In research and development investment,NIO is also quite willing.In the first three quarters of this year alone,NIO has invested nearly 7 billion yuan.In 2022,NIO's domestic and foreign R&D entities such as Berlin Innovation Center,Singapore Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Driving R&D Center,Shenzhen R&D center and Hangzhou R&D Center will continue to carry out self-research work in various fields of intelligent electric vehicles supporting the global market.The high attention to and investment in research and development make NIO's products always rank in the leading position in the industry.Whether it is its intelligent driving,intelligent cabin or convenient power change system,users can intuitively feel the strength of the self-developed system of NIO.

②System-wide service.

In life,users buy products from different brands,which often represent their social identity.NIO is the first car brand to play with the user community.Those familiar with NIO know that its owners have amazing enthusiasm.In 2016,NIO App was released.At first,the App only had functions of official news release and users saving points.Later,with the implementation of the system-wide service of NIO,the APP became a user-exclusive online community,where all registered users could express their ideas,share life updates,chat and interact with many car riders,and shop at NIO Life Surprise Mall.At the same time,you can also submit your opinions and suggestions to NIO.Now,NIO has really done well in the user community.From the earliest “check in with the wool on the APP of NIO and earn points to buy gifts”,to the bid for the annual conference“NIO Day”.From recommendation code sharing,private domain traffic+ripple mode selling cars,to NIO House cafe and shared meeting room;From the services and products of car delivery,maintenance,car inspection and power supply,to the regular user offline activities...NIO is not only reaching users through products and services,but also providing users with a social platform and even a conversation topic.This kind of service is able to let users truly experience the pleasure and value of social interaction.

(2) Globalization strategy.

In terms of globalization,NIO provides full-system services in four markets,namely Germany,the Netherlands,Denmark and Sweden,and has started subscription service and buyout mode.Meanwhile,NIO plans to set up an artificial intelligence and autonomous driving research and development center in Singapore and an innovation center in Berlin.By 2025,NIO will provide services to users in more than 25 countries and regions.NIO has said on more than one occasion that its competitors are not Tesla,but BMW,Mercedes and Audi.This time,NIO directly cut into the hinterland of BBA,which can be seen that the target of NIO is not only the Chinese market.According to NIO's announcement,the price of the NIO subscription model is similar to the monthly rental price of the Porsche Taycan and Mercedes-Benz EQS.“The corresponding models of Porsche and the Mercedes Benz are the product positioning of NIO.” Bin Li said:“Many people used to think that Chinese products should be cheaper than German products,but we want to bring the price back to its essence.NIO will stick to the one-price all-inclusive model.The price system of the subscription model includes insurance,delivery,maintenance and other services,rather than to impress consumers with low but insincere prices.” As the birthplace of the automobile industry,Europe has an undisputed strong position for local brands.“NIO is entering Europe on a large scale this year.The way to enter is not to find dealers to sell cars,but to move the company,which is competitive in the company system,to Europe,and the car is just a part of the company.” Qin Lihong said:“We still need to do these things very steadily and very slowly.”

Promoting high-quality development is a fundamental requirement for doing economic work well.It is essential to realize the shift from“whether” to “good” economic development.General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out:“ High-quality development is development that can well meet the people's growing needs for a better life,development that reflects the new development philosophy,development that makes innovation the primary driving force,coordination the endogenous feature,green development the common form,openness the only way,and sharing the fundamental purpose.” With the rapid development of economy and society,Chinese mimicry and wave consumption stage is basically over.The consumption demands of the people are constantly upgrading,increasingly personalized and diversified.It is necessary to satisfy people's diversified needs with high quality development.The vision and actions contained in the logo of NIO also well interpret the new development concept — better intelligent electric vehicle products and better car ownership experience will make more and more people love intelligent electric vehicles,the blue sky we are looking forward to will come faster,and the blue planet we live together will develop more sustainably.As Bin Li said:“NIO does something idealistic,which is our own insistence.From the release of our brand in 2016 to now,it is consistent.In fact,we have always been like this,and there is nothing to deviate from our original intention.”

Part Ⅱ Disscussion Questions

Question 1: Combined with the case,please explain how NIO has“ stayed true to its original aspiration and forged ahead” since its establishment.

Question 2: SWOT analysis,also known as situation analysis or strength and weakness analysis,is used to determine an enterprise's own competitive strength,weakness,opportunity and threat,so as to organically combine the company's strategy with its internal resources and external environment.Please explain through SWOT analysis what factors should be considered when NIO makes strategy based on the case.

Part Ⅲ References

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