Introduction: In 2024, when competition is equally fierce, it remains to be discussed whether Alpine’s first new car can become a phenomenal hit like model y.
Recently, spy photos of the first new car of NIO's sub-brand "Alpine" were exposed. According to previous news, the new brand's positioning is lower than NIO's original brand. The price of the first new car is expected to be around 250,000 yuan, and it is expected to still have the ability to swap batteries. The car will also compete with Tesla model y, Zhiji ls6, Xiaopeng g6 and other models.
As can be seen from the spy photos, Alpine's first new car is an SUV, which is expected to be positioned as a medium-sized pure electric model. As can be seen from the spy photos, the rear of the new car adopts a fastback design, which is not the outline design of a traditional SUV. Currently, NIO’s ec6 and ec7 models also adopt a similar design.
In August 2021, NIO Chairman and CEO Li Bin confirmed for the first time the news of NIO launching a new brand during the earnings call. Li Bin once said in public: "The relationship between the Alps and NIO brands is similar to Audi and Lexus and Toyota ." Li Bin also said, "I hope the new brand will use a lower price than Tesla ." prices, and provide better products and services.”
At the end of 2022, spy photos of Alpine’s first new car were first exposed on the Internet.
At the media communication meeting at the end of 2022, Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, said that the future main model of the new brand Alpine will have a monthly sales target of 50,000 units. As a product for the mass market, Alpine will carry a higher sales target.
Li Bin also said in public: "In the household market with more than 200,000 yuan, there is an opportunity to produce a single model with monthly sales of 50,000 to 60,000 units, even if it is pure electric."
In fact, Alps is not Weilai’s only sub-brand. In addition to Alps, NIO has also planned a third brand code-named "Firefly", which is expected to be positioned lower than Alps and focus on the market below 200,000 yuan.
Qin Lihong revealed in an interview with the media that the third brand provides a car similar to BMW mini, which is planned to be launched in the European market in 2025.
Compared with the third brand "Firefly" which was released far away, "Alps" for the mid-range market has very high expectations for NIO. As the first model of a new brand, it is an arduous goal to achieve similar sales results to Model Y, which has been the current number one in bicycle sales for a long time. The reason behind
is the weak performance of NIO’s brand in 2023. In 2023, NIO delivered a total of 160,000 vehicles, only completing about 65% of its sales target. Objectively speaking, NIO owns more than 40% of the market for pure electric vehicles above RMB 300,000. However, if we compare hybrid models horizontally, NIO's sales are not even half of the ideal 376,000 units.
Currently, Ideal only has three models: l7, l8, and l9, while NIO has 8 models including et5, es6, etc.
In early 2024, Li Bin’s internal letter to Weilai was exposed, which mentioned:
"In 2023, in a macro environment full of uncertainties, the competition in the smart electric vehicle industry has entered the most intense qualifying stage. In the past This year is another challenging and unforgettable year for NIO. Our overall performance did not meet the expected goals. There are many lessons that need to be summarized and reflected on, and there are too many organizational capabilities that need to be improved as soon as possible."
According to the internal letter, Li Bin made it clear to "ensure long-term investment in core key technologies, ensure the leading edge of technology and products, and deliver on time and quality" and "ensure that sales and service capabilities can cope with fierce market competition, and sales can be converted into sales as soon as possible." And "ensuring that the research and development of nine core products of three brands are on schedule" are the three high priorities in 2024.
Regarding cost reduction and efficiency improvement, Li Bin said:
"In 2024, we must resolutely avoid ineffective and inefficient investment, resolutely save every penny that does not create value for users and the company, and save every unnecessary use. of electricity, saving every unnecessary document printing, not wasting every click and inquiry, not wasting every product and service improvement opportunity brought by user feedback."
Regarding the Weilai brand, Li Bin previously said, "Wei The nio brand will not deliver new products in 2024." The focus is on Alpine's first new car, which has 800v, battery swap and other technologies, occupying a certain latecomer advantage.
Objectively speaking, the high-end positioning of NIO’s brand is expected to have a certain stimulating effect on Alpine’s communication. However, in 2024, when competition is equally fierce, can Alpine’s first new car become a phenomenon-level hit like Model Y? , this remains to be discussed.
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