Benchmarking the luxury brand BBA and building its own power station, Weilai Automobile once became the leader of new car manufacturers by virtue of its first-mover advantage. Reveal the appearance of falling behind.
The main business is sluggish, and there is new news from Weilai. Two days ago, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued an approval certificate for Weilai mobile phone, which means that the mobile phone made by this car company is getting closer and closer to the launch.
It is not surprising that Xiaomi, Huawei, and Apple have entered the auto market. Now, after Geely, NIO has also rushed into the mobile phone market. Chen Yudong, President of Bosch China, directly poured cold water on it: Automobile companies make mobile phones to "eat enough". It's okay to do."
In fact, not only making mobile phones, but in the past few years, Weilai Automobile has made a lot of troubles, chasing the metaverse, creating AR glasses, allowing car owners to watch giant-screen movies in the car; and applying for GPT-related trademarks, preparing to use AI to upgrade the car experience .
It takes a lot of work, but the effect is very small. The sales and stock price of Weilai Automobile have experienced a "double decline".
A market voice believes that the high price makes Weilai lose its cost-effective advantage compared with BYD, Tesla and other brands, and it is difficult to become the mainstream choice. Finally, Weilai lowered the price, and planned to build two sub-brands with lower positioning.
However, the market competition pattern is quietly being established, and there is not much time left for NIO to adjust its strategy.
A car key worth 7000 yuan?
It is not new for Huawei, Xiaomi and other mobile phone manufacturers to enter the automobile industry across the circle. NIO directly crossed the border and built mobile phones.
On June 19, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved a smart phone model N2301, and the application unit was Weilai Mobile Technology Co., Ltd. The company is affiliated to NIO China Group, and its legal representative is Qin Lihong, the co-founder and president of NIO.
Weilai mobile phone "network access" certificate
As early as last December at the NIO Day 2022 event, Li Bin, the founder of Weilai Automobile, revealed that Weilai mobile phones are already in production and plan to follow the example of Apple and launch a new mobile phone every year. The issuance of the radio approval certificate by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology means that the Weilai mobile phone is one step closer to the launch.
However, the certificate approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology did not disclose the specific configuration of the mobile phone. Earlier, "spy photos" of Weilai's mobile phone had been circulated on the Internet. From the online picture, the phone is a candy bar phone with the same NIO logo printed on it. The photo has not been officially confirmed by NIO.
Spy photos of Weilai mobile phones leaked from the Internet
But Qin Lihong once said that Weilai mobile phones are positioned as Android flagship phones, and the price will probably be between 5,000-7,000 yuan. He emphasized that Weilai will not install advertisements inside the mobile phone, and will not monetize through advertisements. According to reports, the NIO mobile phone is equipped with UWB technology, which can be used as a car key for NIO cars. The data transmission speed and distance measurement accuracy are greatly improved compared with the previous Bluetooth keys. Li Bin previously announced that it is expected to be released in the third quarter of this year.
Stepping into the mobile phone circle in a big way, Li Bin said that Weilai does not intend to compete with Huawei and Xiaomi in making mobile phones, but for the needs of users. "The synergy between mobile phones and cars is becoming more and more important. Weilai mobile phones can sell hundreds of thousands of units, and half of the users will be very happy to buy them."
This humble statement is not in line with Weilai's strategy of launching self-developed mobile phones and releasing new flagships every year. After all, NIO could have implemented its mobile phone production and sales plan at a lower cost and at a slower pace if it only worked on collaborative hardware for cars. And the "NIO car key" priced at 7,000 yuan was rated as "not necessary" by some car fans.
Chen Yudong, president of Bosch China, believes that auto companies are "satisfied and have nothing to do" when making mobile phones. On the contrary, it is possible for mobile phone manufacturers to make cars.
Chen Yudong believes that it is difficult for car companies to make a profit in the mobile phone business, and the unprofitable business model is just playing hooligans. "Mobile phone manufacturers have a large shipment volume. As long as 1% of them are converted into car owners, they may sell 1 million cars. However, the shipment volume of car companies is far smaller than that of mobile phone manufacturers. If car companies want to convert users into mobile phone users, the volume is too small It is not enough to support the profitability of the mobile phone business.” In addition, the mobile phone industry standard is different from the automobile industry standard. The mobile phone can crash, but the consequences of the car’s “crash” are unimaginable. "To make a car, dig deep into the car, and let others do the mobile phone. Of course, I also respect the choice of the company."
Li Bin confided in a longer-term thinking. When Weilai Mobile Technology Co., Ltd. was established in August 2022, he said that this decision was based on Apple's concerns about entering the automotive industry. The implication is that making mobile phones is more like a defensive method to prevent Apple from relying on its huge user base to snatch Weilai's car customers in the future.
A marketer in the automotive industry believes that Weilai's mobile phone is not intended to sell machines, but to deploy a human-vehicle-end mobile smart ecosystem. "This is almost a general trend of intelligent driving and human-vehicle interaction. Geely is doing Regarding the layout of this aspect, although the overseas rumors of Tesla making mobile phones have not been confirmed, but they have core chains, and it is a matter of minutes if they really want to build them.”
Chasing the metaverse, "+AI" can't solve the sales dilemma
Regardless of whether the layout is far-reaching or the market is optimistic, the matter of "making mobile phones" is not against Weilai. Since its birth, this new car-making force has been taking an unusual path since its birth.
When most independent auto brands take the low-price route and compete with joint venture brands for the market, NIO directly competes with luxury brands such as BBA, and has produced a sports car EP9 and a medium and large electric SUV ES8. The starting price of the latter is nearly 45 ten thousand yuan.
Weilai, which takes the high-end route, was once the most popular among the new car-making forces. By taking the lead in mass production, Weilai Automobile once beat Lixiang Automobile and Xiaopeng Automobile, and won the "Wei Xiaoli Automobile" like the "BAT" of the Internet. "The market place.
The high-priced Weilai Automobile pioneered the battery swap model, and has built thousands of swap stations across the country, allowing car owners to directly replace batteries when they run out of power, alleviating the pain of waiting for charging.
When the metaverse and AI winds blow, NIO also catches up without hesitation.
On NIO Day in 2021, when Weilai Automobile debuted its fifth model ET5, it took advantage of the metaverse concept. Other cars are equipped with a large entertainment screen dedicated to the co-driver. ET5 is directly connected to Pano Cinema, a panoramic digital cockpit using AR/VR technology. spatial experience.
Not only that, NIO and AR startup Nreal jointly developed the NIO Air AR glasses, which can achieve a 3D viewing effect equivalent to 4 meters and 130 inches in the car. In the media promotion at that time, NIO ET5 was called "the first metaverse model", which properly grasped the trend at that time.
NIO Air AR Glasses
This year, the metaverse is receding, AI is popular, and NIO will never be absent. In May, Weilai Automobile was exposed to apply for KnowmeGPT, NIOGPT, NOMIGPT and other trademarks containing "GPT". According to the interpretation in the circle, this is to move the ChatGPT-like large model into the car machine. Li Bin didn't hide it, and said bluntly that "such an artificial intelligence assistant, or an emotional partner, the large model will greatly help the improvement and help of the car."
Compared with traditional auto companies, Weilai's every step is very fast and big. Chasing the metaverse and AI, developing AR glasses and mobile phones, all these actions reveal the uniqueness of NIO.
However, being “different” does not mean being effective. There is often only one report card that determines the fate of a car company—sales.
Going back to NIO's main car business, it is going through a dark moment since its establishment. In 2022, Weilai will only complete 82% of its annual sales target. Since the beginning of this year, Weilai's single-month delivery volume has also continued to decline. In the past two months, the sales volume of all models of Weilai has fallen below 10,000 units, 6658 units and 6155 units respectively, ranking among ideal, Nezha, zero running, extremely krypton, After Xiaopeng and other new car-making forces, sales hit the lowest point in the past year. In contrast, according to data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, from January to April this year, my country's auto production and sales reached 8.355 million and 8.235 million, respectively, an increase of 8.6% and 7.1% year-on-year.
At the media meeting in early April, Li Bin once said half-jokingly, "Our goal in the second quarter is to sell more cars. If there is no improvement and there are still more than 10,000 cars per month, then Li Hong and I have to go Looking for a job."
As a result, in April and May, the sales volume of Weilai Automobile has not yet reversed the downward trend. In the first five months of this year, the sales volume of Weilai Automobile was about 43,800 units, which is still less than half of the approximately 106,500 units of Ideal Automobile. The once new force "One Brother" has been left far behind by Li Auto.
"Expensive" no longer insist
The downturn in the sales market is hitting Nio's stock price. Since the beginning of 2021, NIO's stock price has continued to decline from a high of US$66.9. The stock price has fallen to US$9.36 in more than two years, with a cumulative decline of 86%.
NIO's stock price has continued to fall in the past two years
NIO's losses are increasing. The financial report shows that from 2020 to 2022, NIO will achieve net profits attributable to its parent of -5.611 billion yuan, -10.57 billion yuan, and -14.56 billion yuan respectively. In the first quarter of 2023, Weilai achieved a net profit of -4.804 billion yuan attributable to the parent company for more than three years, and Weilai's accumulated losses exceeded 35.5 billion yuan.
In the past, chasing the metaverse and now "+AI" these "fancy jobs" do not seem to directly boost the sales of Weilai Automobile, and making mobile phones will not solve the immediate sales dilemma, but will be a big investment.
What is the crux of Weilai? The market gives a simple answer - expensive.
Weilai, which has been taking the high-end route since its birth, once enjoyed the first wave of dividends due to the unsaturated new energy vehicle market. Its ES8, ES6 and other models once sold well. According to statistics, as of the end of April 2023, the first generation ES6 Delivered 127,611 units, ranking first in the pure electric SUV market with an average price of more than 350,000.
But the market quietly changed. BYD occupies the top of the sales list of new energy vehicles with high cost performance. Tesla has repeatedly cut prices and repeatedly emphasized that it is "friendly to the people". Old car companies such as Geely, Great Wall, Chery, and Changan have also broken into the new energy track. market, while the product lines of rivals such as Ideal, Nezha, and Leapao, which are rivals of the original track, are becoming more mature, and when production capacity is greatly increased, consumers are waiting for price cuts.
Under such circumstances, the high-quality, service-oriented, and high-price route of Weilai Automobile is becoming more and more difficult to follow. Compared with many new energy vehicles, Weilai is not only expensive, but also stubborn. Li Bin has repeatedly emphasized that in order to protect the rights and interests of old car owners, Weilai will not cut prices.
A consumer who booked a Tesla model said, "I will not spend more than 100,000 yuan to buy Weilai for the service of Weilai. The consumption has been downgraded. When I just need a car, I will still consider the brand, battery performance, and most importantly. It's value for money."
In the face of the cruel market, Weilai finally bowed his head.
On June 12, NIO announced that the starting price of all models will be reduced by 30,000 yuan. At the same time, Weilai canceled the right to free battery replacement.
This is Li Bin's compromise to the market. He said bluntly in the Weilai user community that this adjustment has been discussed internally for a long time, and he has listened to the opinions and suggestions of some users. There are things that are not well thought out, and I ask for your understanding and support."
Under the reality of sales of Waterloo, Weilai Automobile began to exchange prices for sales. In fact, judging from the sales composition of NIO's models, models with lower prices are also the "main force" of shipments. According to the financial report, in Q1 of 2023, the sales volume of ET5 with lower positioning of NIO was 18,703 units, accounting for 60.25% of the total sales.
Obviously, the market prefers models with lower prices. This also means that if Weilai wants to return to the peak sales of new car-making forces, it needs to lower its figure and enter the car-buying range of mainstream users.
So, is Weilai's "high-end positioning" gone? NO, its choice is to create a new sub-brand in an attempt to complete the mission of "market sinking".
During this year's Shanghai Auto Show, Qin Lihong revealed that NIO is preparing two new brand projects code-named "Alps" and "Firefly". The two brands may meet with consumers by the end of next year.
However, data shows that BYD and Tesla already have an absolute advantage in the price range of 100,000 to 350,000, and Weilai's cost-effective models will have to wait for more than a year. There is not much time left for Weilai to compete in the low-end market.