NIO which translates into “Blue Sky Coming“ in Chinese, has been one of the hottest stocks of 2020.

You might have heard that this Chinese company led by CEO William Li sells electric cars and… yep, that’s pretty much all they do. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝟑𝟏,𝟒𝟑𝟎 𝐯𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟔% (𝟓,𝟎𝟓𝟓 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐬) 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎, 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝟏𝟎𝟎.𝟏% 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫. But let’s have a look at what vehicles JAC Motors produces for NIO (yes, NIO outsources the production) and how much they cost.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞

𝐄𝐒𝟔 – NIO’s most sold vehicle is a 5-seater SUV from 2018 with range* up to 610 km and 0-100 km/h in 4.7sec. The price starts at $𝟓𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎 and the company delivered 2,695 units in October. Check it out here: www.nio.com/es6

𝐄𝐂𝟔 – NIO started producing this ES6 coupe version recently in 2020. Range* is up to 615 km, 0-100 km/h in 4.5sec. The price starts at $𝟓𝟓𝟎𝟎𝟎 with 883 units delivered in October. Check it out here: www.nio.com/ec6

𝐄𝐒𝟖 – this 6- or 7-seater SUV from 2018 is NIO’s flagship and second most popular vehicle. It boasts a range* of up to 580 km and 0-100 km/h in 4.9sec. The price starts at $𝟕𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 and NIO delivered 1,477 units in October. Check it out here: www.nio.com/es8

𝐄𝐏𝟗 – this beautiful supercar does 0-100 km/h in 2.7sec and debuted on the same day NIO was established. It is not being mass produced, rather only occasionally. The company has delivered only approx. 16 units with a price tag of $𝟏.𝟓𝐌𝐢𝐨. EP9 is especially important for NIO’s image as a 𝐥𝐮𝐱𝐮𝐫𝐲 brand. Let Richard Hammond sum it up for you: www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbSB_J06fA8 You can also check it out here: www.nio.com/ep9

𝐄𝐕𝐄 – this concept is NIO’s vision of the future. It is fully autonomous and equipped with futuristic features. EVE is especially important for NIO’s image as an 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 brand. See the future here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkoDqS9yhRE *With 100kWh battery pack.

𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲: “𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐈 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩!“

What gives NIO an edge is its battery swap technology. The technology enables NIO users to exchange depleted batteries for new ones in a matter of minutes. NIO claims it has deployed over 155 battery swap stations across 64 cities in China and completed over 1 Mio battery swaps. The fee for the service varies greatly from place to place.

𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 (𝐁𝐚𝐚𝐒)

This is where things get really interesting financially. NIO introduced Baas in 2020. It gives buyers the option to purchase one of the SUV trio without ownership of the battery resulting in a discount of over $𝟏𝟎𝐤. But don’t cheer just yet, you have to lease the battery for about $𝟏𝟓𝟎 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡. That makes it around 𝟓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟏/𝟐 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 to break even. It’s an ingenious idea as it lowers the entry price for the vehicles making NIO cars available to more people. Individuals under this plan are entitled to 6 free battery swaps a month.

𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐬: 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝-𝐛𝐲𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐢 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬

Another boost for NIO’s revenue might come from newly established cooperation with the Intel subsidiary in Israel, robotaxi company Mobileye. Under the deal, NIO will engineer and manufacture a self-driving system designed by Mobileye and supply Mobileye's future robotaxi fleet with its vehicles. So don't be surprised to get picked up by one of NIO's SUVs one day on your way home.

𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐨: 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭

NIO’s European expansion efforts are underway under the codename Marco Polo Project. NIO plans to start selling ES8 and ES6 models in Europe in the second half of 2021. That’s good news for European NIO shareholders as they might soon have a chance to turn their shares into an actual NIO car.

Sources: www.nio.com/news/all-new-nio-es8-smart-electric-flagship-suv-commences-delivery www.topgear.com/car-reviews/nio/es6/owning www.nio.com/news/nio-launches-smart-electric-coupe-suv-ec6 www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-reviews/nio/nio-ep9-2017-review/ www.theverge.com/2019/3/5/18252244/nio-ev-startup-factory-shanghai-cancelled-jac-motors www.barrons.com/articles/nio-stock-ev-battery-swap-service-rent-lease-51597938785 www.theverge.com/2015/7/2/8879395/formula-e-electric-racing-series-us https://techtime.news/2019/11/06/mobileye-8/ seekingalpha.com/pr/18067348-nio-inc-provides-october-2020-delivery-update www.yicaiglobal.com/news/china-ev-maker-nio-marco-polo-project-to-speed-exports-to-europe