Offering competition for the likes of Tesla in the Chinese market for electric cars, the first mas-produced model was launched by NIO, China’s electric vehicle start-up.
One of the differentiating factor is the price of the vehicle which is half of the starting price of a Tesla electric car. The price of the ES8 of NIO starts at 448,000 yuan ($67,765) while that of Tesla is 836,000 yuan ($126,470).
The Chinese company also gets state subsidies.
"It's hard to assume" how this will affect Tesla's sales in China, NIO Founder and Chairman William Li said. "Maybe Tesla will sell less ... after our product is out. Or probably, because the whole market is growing, they will still maintain growth in sales. It's hard to say."
"But we do have lots of customers that turned to us from Tesla, and many who have bought buy products from both," said Li, said while speaking to the media.
This place the two as competitors.
"For sure I think Tesla is our rival in that consumers will choose between our products. But I wouldn't say we are the Chinese Tesla, or they are the American NIO," Li said.
Retrofit with an artificial intelligence system, the ES8 is customizable and the seven-seater can be made to order. The power of the car is also substantial – able to reach 100 km per hour (62 miles per hour) in 4.4 seconds.
China has been attempting to cut down on severe air pollution and has promoted electric vehicles which has sparked a severe competition between the electric vehicle markers in China for market share.
There are also large subsidies and even state investments – such as battery charging network construction, to the electric vehicle industry.
The monthly rental subscription plan for battery charging was offered at 128,000 yuan ($19,366) was also spelled out by NIO during the launch.
It would just three minutes at the battery charging stations for the owners of the ES8 to swap their batteries, the company said. car owners would also have the option of taking advantage of a mobile service for car charging.
The company added that it plans to deploy more than construct 1,200 "Power Mobile" vehicles and more than 1,100 "Power Swap" charging stations by 2020.
Foreign auto makers like BMW and Volkswagen have come to the country to fight out the lucrative market for electric vehicles against the local tech titans such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent driven by the push for EV market and its technology by the Chinese government.
China is the largest market in the world for electric vehicles and Tesla has announced plans for beginning of local production in the market. Chinas auto industry claimed that there has been a jump of 51.4 per cent between January and November this year in the sale of electric vehicles.
"The plan of entering capital markets is just a necessary process during the development of the company. We will not set a specific deadline for an IPO, rather it will depend on the development of the company. Right now we don't have information to share on that," Li told CNBC.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)
One of the differentiating factor is the price of the vehicle which is half of the starting price of a Tesla electric car. The price of the ES8 of NIO starts at 448,000 yuan ($67,765) while that of Tesla is 836,000 yuan ($126,470).
The Chinese company also gets state subsidies.
"It's hard to assume" how this will affect Tesla's sales in China, NIO Founder and Chairman William Li said. "Maybe Tesla will sell less ... after our product is out. Or probably, because the whole market is growing, they will still maintain growth in sales. It's hard to say."
"But we do have lots of customers that turned to us from Tesla, and many who have bought buy products from both," said Li, said while speaking to the media.
This place the two as competitors.
"For sure I think Tesla is our rival in that consumers will choose between our products. But I wouldn't say we are the Chinese Tesla, or they are the American NIO," Li said.
Retrofit with an artificial intelligence system, the ES8 is customizable and the seven-seater can be made to order. The power of the car is also substantial – able to reach 100 km per hour (62 miles per hour) in 4.4 seconds.
China has been attempting to cut down on severe air pollution and has promoted electric vehicles which has sparked a severe competition between the electric vehicle markers in China for market share.
There are also large subsidies and even state investments – such as battery charging network construction, to the electric vehicle industry.
The monthly rental subscription plan for battery charging was offered at 128,000 yuan ($19,366) was also spelled out by NIO during the launch.
It would just three minutes at the battery charging stations for the owners of the ES8 to swap their batteries, the company said. car owners would also have the option of taking advantage of a mobile service for car charging.
The company added that it plans to deploy more than construct 1,200 "Power Mobile" vehicles and more than 1,100 "Power Swap" charging stations by 2020.
Foreign auto makers like BMW and Volkswagen have come to the country to fight out the lucrative market for electric vehicles against the local tech titans such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent driven by the push for EV market and its technology by the Chinese government.
China is the largest market in the world for electric vehicles and Tesla has announced plans for beginning of local production in the market. Chinas auto industry claimed that there has been a jump of 51.4 per cent between January and November this year in the sale of electric vehicles.
"The plan of entering capital markets is just a necessary process during the development of the company. We will not set a specific deadline for an IPO, rather it will depend on the development of the company. Right now we don't have information to share on that," Li told CNBC.
(Source:www.cnbc.com)