On March 5, NIO released its fourth quarter and full-year financial reports for 2023.
According to financial report data, NIO’s total revenue hit a new high in 2023, reaching 55.62 billion yuan, but its annual net loss reached a staggering 20.7 billion yuan.
Compared with the ideal revenue of more than 100 billion and net profit of more than 10 billion during the same period, Weilai, the former "big brother" of the new power, can be said to have experienced bitterness.
Since 2021, NIO's gross profit margin has gradually declined, with the gross profit margins from 2021 to 2023 being 18.9%, 10.4%, and 5.5% respectively.
's losses continue to expand. The reason is NIO's continued expenditure on R&D and infrastructure.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, NIO’s R&D expenditure exceeded 3.97 billion yuan, exceeding 3 billion for five consecutive quarters. For the whole of 2023, NIO’s R&D expenses were 13.43 billion yuan, exceeding 10 billion for two consecutive years. A large part of
's huge R&D expenditures has been invested by NIO in the battery swap mode.
In 2023, NIO will build 1,035 new power swap stations around the world, with a total of 2,350 built. Continuous R&D investment and the expansion of battery swapping infrastructure and user centers have increased NIO’s financial pressure.
Moreover, with the launch of Huawei’s supercharging technology, the charging pile’s “1 km per second” and high matching ratio seem to have defeated the power swap technology that NIO spent a lot of money to develop. This is undoubtedly a huge development for NIO. of blow.
In addition, in terms of delivery, NIO delivered a total of 160,000 new cars in 2023, only completing 65% of the annual sales. More and more investments are being made, but sales have not yet increased. Is NIO really the right choice to focus on quality rather than quantity?
In any case, NIO has made or failed in 2023. However, entering 2024, NIO has not given up.
Last November, NIO and Changan Automobile signed a power swap business cooperation agreement in Chongqing. The two parties will cooperate around power swaps and jointly promote high-quality development and low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry.
According to the agreement, Changan Automobile’s first swappable passenger model that shares a battery pack with NIO plans to be launched in 2025. As the cooperation progresses, users of some brands of models owned by both parties can share the public battery swap stations built by both parties.
Not only Changan, Geely , Chery and Jianghuai Automobile also expressed interest in battery swap technology. With the support of these manufacturers, perhaps this "black hole" that has caused NIO to fall into losses may one day become NIO's life-saving straw.
In addition to the turnaround in the battery swap mode, NIO has also made great efforts in product layout in 2024.
In the second half of this year, Weilai will launch a new brand "Alps". Li Bin said that Alpine will have an independent sales network and adopt part of NIO’s after-sales system. At the product level, Alpine will focus on the family market and launch very competitive models for different families.
It is reported that Alpine’s first model will be a family SUV. This SUV is scheduled to debut in the third quarter of this year and be delivered in the fourth quarter.
The spy photos of this car are similar to the Tesla model y. Li Bin also said that its cost will be about 10% lower than model y. Tesla's single vehicle sales cost in 2023 will be approximately RMB 250,000. Based on this calculation, the estimated sales cost of Alpine’s new car is around 230,000 yuan.
From this point of view, Alps, which is focused on volume, may have given up on the pursuit of gross profits. However, such Alps are like an avalanche for new energy vehicle brands under the 200,000 yuan level.
And this is not the end, Li Bin said that Alpine will also have models worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on the market. Perhaps NIO has withdrawn from the competition of low-priced new energy vehicles. But in the near future, Li Bin’s Alpine may sweep the market below 200,000 yuan.
And just on March 1, Liu Jie, vice president of Li Auto business, said in an interview with reporters: "We judge that in the new energy vehicle market with more than 200,000 yuan, there will be a particularly clear trend by the end of this year. When the top three emerge, they may even occupy 70% of the market share.Among the top three, we (Li Auto) and Wenjie will definitely be in it. "
By the end of 2024, can Weilai win the last "top three" seat and gain ample living space? Let us wait and see!
