Li Bin strives to charge towards the new world

Although it is the last "homework" among the new forces in the automotive industry, NIO's performance still reassures the market.

On September 5th, NIO disclosed its second-quarter report for this year, with a 91% increase in deliveries to 57,000 units compared to the previous period. This not only exceeded the management's guidance of 54,000-56,000 units but also set a new record for its own sales volume; the revenue of 17.45 billion yuan also exceeded market expectations. As for Q3, NIO remains confident, expecting deliveries to increase to 61,000-63,000 units and revenue to rise to 17.5 billion yuan.

NIO's operations in the first half of the year have finally paid off. More importantly, even after the decline in BaaS model equity, it has maintained a stable growth trend, dispelling market concerns. With sales exceeding 20,000 units for four consecutive months, economies of scale have been demonstrated at NIO, with a second-quarter automobile gross profit margin of 12.2%, exceeding market expectations and increasing by 3 percentage points compared to the previous period.

Driven by its performance, on September 5th, U.S. Eastern Time, NIO's stock price rose nearly 9% after the market opened.

NIO has sounded the charge, and now with its own research and development and the strong moat of energy replenishment, NIO, Lixiang, and even the "Firefly" to be listed next year will work together to propel this new force into broader territories. Chairman Li Bin's goal is to reach a million units.

However, it is not yet time to celebrate. NIO, which is striving to seize the high ground, has not yet passed the peak of expenditures.

The financial report shows that although NIO's gross profit margin increased significantly in the quarter, due to factors such as increased investment in research and development, energy replenishment infrastructure, and Lixiang network construction, expenses increased by 1.1 billion yuan compared to the previous period, and operating losses still exceeded 5.2 billion yuan, leading to a cash decline of 3.7 billion yuan this quarter.

At the financial report meeting, NIO CFO Qu Yu stated that the company's research and development expenses will be maintained at 3 billion yuan per quarter, and the deployment of charging and swapping stations, as well as the investment in sub-brand channels and marketing, are still in the investment phase.

Li Bin stated that the NIO brand's sales volume can continue to rise, but the company will balance the relationship between scale and gross profit. "NIO can achieve a monthly sales volume of 30,000-40,000 units in the long term, with a reasonable target gross profit margin of 25%. By the end of this year, this number will rise to 15%."

The financial situation in the second quarter is the expected result after NIO stabilizes. After finally establishing a foothold, the next stage of greater surprises will come from the surge in sales of sub-brands, which also determines whether NIO can undergo a transformation and stand alongside Li Auto and Aito.

At the performance meeting, Li Bin stated that orders for the Lixiang L60 exceeded expectations, with deliveries scheduled to start in September but volume concentrated in the fourth quarter, targeting 20,000 units. Based on the third-quarter guidance, it is estimated that the Lixiang L60 will contribute a maximum of about 3,000 units in September, but Li Bin stated that the delivery volume of this vehicle will reach 10,000 units in December In the eyes of industry insiders, it seems that LeDao may not be able to shoulder NIO's sales banner this year, and the management's expectation for LeDao's breakeven point is a monthly sales of at least 20,000 to 30,000 units.

Li Bin admitted that because the L60 uses the most advanced technology, the supply chain needs a ramp-up process. To reassure the market, he stated that LeDao is in a market with annual sales of over 8 million units, which offers much greater opportunities, and the market's balance is tilting towards it.

"Nowadays, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China has exceeded five, and the replacement of gasoline vehicles will happen very quickly," Li Bin firmly believes that in the next two years or so, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China will exceed 80%.

In his view, gasoline vehicles are already in decline, and whether mainstream or luxury gasoline vehicles will "trade volume for price" to survive, but this will harm the interests of dealers, leading to a decline in market share, which will be taken over by new energy vehicles.

For NIO, under such favorable trends, it will have three brands making efforts next year, covering the price range of 140,000 to 800,000 yuan, and the Battery as a Service (BaaS) service will cover the range of 100,000 to 700,000 yuan, with a more complete range of products than its competitors, further penetrating the gasoline vehicle market.

While casting a wide net with its products, NIO is preparing for a sprint in the coming years. Li Bin revealed that the F2 factory is already producing L60 in two shifts; the F3 factory with an annual capacity of 600,000 units will also be completed and put into operation in the third quarter of next year. By then, at least three factories will be outputting simultaneously, with a total capacity reaching the million-unit level.

It is evident that Li Bin is vigorously outlining a blueprint for a counterattack and disruption to the outside world.

However, the race tracks where LeDao and Firefly are located, with price ranges of over 200,000 yuan and over 100,000 yuan, respectively, are fiercely competitive battlefields. Whether it's the Ideal L6 or XPeng's MONA M03, both have achieved success on the path of sinking. Whether NIO's differentiated offerings can capture consumers' hearts remains to be proven by the market.

From venturing into the sinking market, expanding alliances through light-sharing, to promoting the slogan of "accessible in every county" for battery swapping and charging, Li Bin is still taking bold risks. He must continue to prove with each performance that steady and solid progress is the standard answer to entering the circle of giants and becoming a benchmark in the pure electric vehicle industry