China's Nio launches smartphone developed to use with its electric cars

[beijingwalker]

China's Nio launches smartphone developed to use with its electric cars​

William Li, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio, unveils the Nio Phone during a launch event for the company's first mobile phone in Shanghai, China on Sep 21, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Zoey Zhang)
21 Sep 2023 04:29PM


SHANGHAI: China's Nio on Thursday (Sep 21) unveiled a high-end smartphone designed to be used with its electric vehicles, touting a plethora of related functions such as using the phone to instruct the car to park itself.

The launch of the Nio Phone - the first car-specific phone to be sold by a Chinese firm, highlights the advanced state of EV technologies in the world's biggest auto market, where electric cars now account for more than a third of vehicle sales.

A Nio driver can also use the phone to notify their car to drive itself to their location (allowed in China in restricted spaces and at low speeds) and to unlock the car even when the phone is switched off.
Chief Executive William Li said the Nio Phone had more than 30 car-specific functions and had broken new ground with connection technologies.

"I believe many of our competitors will learn from our smartphone innovations and I welcome them to do so," he said.

Three models are available, priced between 6,499 yuan (US$890) and 7,499 yuan. The phone will only be sold in China for now and deliveries will start from Sep 28.

Li has pushed ahead with the smartphone project despite concern among some investors that the automaker, which has seen its losses widen amid a fierce price war in China, is taking on too much.

The automaker's primary interest in designing the phone is probably in collecting user data rather than seeking to make the phone a key contributor to revenue, according to IDC analyst Will Wong.
"Smartphones will be a good platform to collect more data which is crucial in the current tech world and could potentially lead to better user experience and customer stickiness," he said.

Nio's foray marks the latest intermingling between the smartphone and automotive worlds.

Meizu, taken over by a venture belonging to Zhejiang Geely Holding's founder, in March unveiled smartphones that can connect to Geely's Lynx & Co-branded cars but are also marketed more broadly to consumers.

Smartphone maker Xiaomi is also set to start making cars.

Nio, which ranks No 9 among manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars in China, has been doubling down on investment in self-developed technologies for key components such as chips and batteries. It has also built a fan base among its drivers in China by rolling out exclusive membership clubs and by offering products such as Nio-branded wine.

The company has a team of 11,000 engineers that work on key aspects of smart EV technologies from chips to batteries to autonomous driving and smart manufacturing, Li said at the event.

After sales slumped in the first half of the year, Nio has seen signs of recovery with August deliveries jumping 81% on the year thanks to the popularity of its revamped ES6 SUV.

It sold some 94,350 vehicles in the first eight months, an increase of 32 per cent over the year-earlier period, outpacing the 20 per cent growth rate for electric car sales in China.

China's Nio launches smartphone developed to use with its electric cars

SHANGHAI: China's Nio on Thursday (Sep 21) unveiled a high-end smartphone designed to be used with its electric vehicles, touting a plethora of related functions such as using the phone to instruct the car to park itself. The launch of the Nio Phone - the first car-specific phone to be sold by a...

www.channelnewsasia.com

 

[StraightEdge]

I have followed Chinese EV market for sometime, I think many people are disappointed with NIO. Total lack of focus, doing unnecessary stuff (this smartphone is an example). Their share prices are hyped for no reason, they should stick to their USP.
I can't think of any sense how their board allowing these decisions. On one side you have BYD which seems o be criminally under-valued, killing it in the market. On other side NIO continues to make zero sense with their strategy.
They invested in their own chip, apparently it's going to save them 'few hundred yuan'.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704677787372863764

I think they need a new management or else they will keep bleeding money.

Ohh, before anyone calls me a $NIO hate, look at their sales.
Aion, Li Auto doing much better. Aion has gone under the radar (specially for international media), and Li makes some seriously good cars.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I have followed Chinese EV market for sometime, I think many people are disappointed with NIO. Total lack of focus, doing unnecessary stuff (this smartphone is an example). Their share prices are hyped for no reason, they should stick to their USP.
I can't think of any sense how their board allowing these decisions. On one side you have BYD which seems o be criminally under-valued, killing it in the market. On other side NIO continues to make zero sense with their strategy.
They invested in their own chip, apparently it's going to save them 'few hundred yuan'.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704677787372863764

I think they need a new management or else they will keep bleeding money.

Ohh, before anyone calls me a $NIO hate, look at their sales.
Aion, Li Auto doing much better. Aion has gone under the radar (specially for international media), and Li makes some seriously good cars.

View attachment 955020

It does seem stupid for a car company to attempt to get into the cut-throat phone business. This simply isn't going to end well.

Just outsource building an App to some top-notch mobile dev company and save a lot of grief.

 

[Menthol]

I have followed Chinese EV market for sometime, I think many people are disappointed with NIO. Total lack of focus, doing unnecessary stuff (this smartphone is an example). Their share prices are hyped for no reason, they should stick to their USP.
I can't think of any sense how their board allowing these decisions. On one side you have BYD which seems o be criminally under-valued, killing it in the market. On other side NIO continues to make zero sense with their strategy.
They invested in their own chip, apparently it's going to save them 'few hundred yuan'.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704677787372863764

I think they need a new management or else they will keep bleeding money.

Ohh, before anyone calls me a $NIO hate, look at their sales.
Aion, Li Auto doing much better. Aion has gone under the radar (specially for international media), and Li makes some seriously good cars.

View attachment 955020

I pretty much agree.

But that is the tactic to get investor attention and burn their money.

NIO is a good car.

But despite whatever they do, they are unable to get public attention and increase their sales.

I think they are stuck, and perhaps sinking.

 

[StraightEdge]

I pretty much agree.

But that is the tactic to get investor attention and burn their money.

NIO is a good car.

But despite whatever they do, they are unable to get public attention and increase their sales.

I think they are stuck, and perhaps sinking.

NIO had 3 good things going for them -

1. Their interiors
2. Their battery swap stations
3. NIO houses/community

They should have invested more on their USP and not do some of these weird shit. If they go down, I thnk BYD will simply get their designers (their interirors have more mature design than BYD's) and battery swap tech.

 

[Viet]

I have followed Chinese EV market for sometime, I think many people are disappointed with NIO. Total lack of focus, doing unnecessary stuff (this smartphone is an example). Their share prices are hyped for no reason, they should stick to their USP.
I can't think of any sense how their board allowing these decisions. On one side you have BYD which seems o be criminally under-valued, killing it in the market. On other side NIO continues to make zero sense with their strategy.
They invested in their own chip, apparently it's going to save them 'few hundred yuan'.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1704677787372863764

I think they need a new management or else they will keep bleeding money.

Ohh, before anyone calls me a $NIO hate, look at their sales.
Aion, Li Auto doing much better. Aion has gone under the radar (specially for international media), and Li makes some seriously good cars.

View attachment 955020

I had been Up on Nio. but now… hopeless. the company disappoints. This venture into smartphone will be the dead end.

 

[Stranagor]

I had been Up on Nio. but now… hopeless. the company disappoints. This venture into smartphone will be the dead end.

Probably they know it already.

Nio Quarterly Loss Widens on Falling Auto Deliveries - Caixin Global

Nio Quarterly Loss Widens on Falling Auto Deliveries - Chinese EV maker’s revenue plunges 14.8%, driving down shares, but management projects ‘solid growth’ in second-half sales

www.caixinglobal.com

 

[Viet]

Probably they know it already.

Nio Quarterly Loss Widens on Falling Auto Deliveries - Caixin Global

Nio Quarterly Loss Widens on Falling Auto Deliveries - Chinese EV maker’s revenue plunges 14.8%, driving down shares, but management projects ‘solid growth’ in second-half sales

www.caixinglobal.com

By this pace of decline Nio will not survive the bloodshed among Chinese EV makers. There were 400. Incredible high number. Years, months ago down to 100. Now down to 10. That’s a good number. Germany, Japan carmakers have about 5.