NIO’s Alps Brand May Collaborate with Dealerships

In the primary half of this yr, NIO proactively contacted a number one home seller group and carried out some “experiments” on opening up the dealership mannequin for its subsidiary model, Alps. Insiders revealed that NIO plans to have the after-sales service and supply facilities of Alps taken over by a nationwide seller group, whereas company-owned shops will stay as direct gross sales.

NIO has all the time been a staunch supporter of the direct gross sales mannequin. Even when increasing into abroad markets final yr, opening 5 NIO Houses and seven NIO Spaces in 5 European international locations, they had been all immediately operated shops. During the press convention saying NIO‘s entry into the Norwegian market, William Li as soon as once more emphasised that “NIO is a user enterprise, and direct connection with users is crucial and fundamental to our entire operation.”

As of the tip of August this yr, NIO has established 134 NIO Houses, 286 NIO Spaces, 304 NIO Service Centers, and 58 NIO Delivery Centers worldwide. Both NIO Houses and NIO Spaces are offline expertise shops primarily for gross sales and model show functions, with bigger funding and better positioning for the previous. The Service Centers and Delivery Centers are chargeable for after-sales service and automobile supply respectively. Among all offline places, solely after-sales providers undertake a combined mannequin of direct operation and authorization, whereas the remainder are immediately operated by NIO.

The NIO model as soon as briefly experimented with a mannequin the place automotive homeowners served as franchisees. At the tip of 2019, going through monetary strain, NIO launched the Co-Creation Partnership Program to save lots of prices. Car homeowners may contribute funds to construct NIO Spaces, which might be operated by NIO personnel. A automotive proprietor who participated in retailer building revealed, “At that time, the annual capital turnover was around five to six hundred thousand yuan (＄69-83 thousand).” Within a yr, automotive homeowners helped construct over 100 NIO Spaces for NIO.

The hybrid mannequin has allowed NIO to quickly enhance the variety of shops, nevertheless it has additionally introduced some administration challenges. By the tip of 2020, NIO reestablished the dominance of its direct gross sales mannequin. All newly opened NIO Spaces are operated immediately by the corporate, and shops that had been invested in by homeowners have been taken again by NIO and transformed into direct gross sales.

SEE ALSO: NIO to Launch Two Sub-Brands by End of Next Year

Alps is a sub-brand launched by NIO for the 200,000-level market, led by Ai Tiecheng, Senior Vice President of NIO. Prior to becoming a member of NIO, Ai Tiecheng served because the General Manager of WeWork China. Currently, the Alps staff has exceeded 800 individuals.

The first automotive from Alps’ plan is scheduled to be mass-produced and delivered within the second half of 2024. During the monetary report assembly within the second quarter of this yr, William Li revealed that the event of the model’s first mannequin has been progressing easily. The first TT mannequin (manufacturing line validation automobile) has already rolled off, and the event of the second product is presently underway.

The first automotive from Alps is a battery electrical sedan, constructed on the NT3.0 platform, and it helps each battery swapping and high-voltage quick charging applied sciences. An insider revealed that Alps plans to supply it on the NIO F3 manufacturing facility. The F3 manufacturing facility is positioned in Hefei Xinqiao, adjoining to the F2 manufacturing facility. It is a part of NeoPark Xinqiao Intelligent Electric Vehicle Industrial Park Phase II and key core element supporting mission. As of penning this, NIO has not formally confirmed this information.

According to earlier media experiences, the primary automotive from Alps will undertake NIO‘s self-developed clever driving chip. NIO‘s self-developed lithium iron phosphate battery and 4680 battery may even be equipped to each NIO and Alps manufacturers.

In 2024, the NIO model won’t ship new merchandise. William Li acknowledged that the present eight fashions have already coated 80% of the high-end market customers’ wants, and the following step is to comprehensively enhance gross sales efficiency. The spotlight of NIO‘s new automotive subsequent yr would be the Alps.

In the second quarter of 2021 earnings convention name, William Li talked about that he hopes the Alpine model can supply decrease costs than Tesla and supply higher services and products. During a communication assembly with buyers this yr, William Li acknowledged that the variety of Alpine model fashions is roughly half of NIO‘s model, and the gross sales goal for its most important mannequin is 50,000 items per thirty days.

The product is aimed toward most of the people, pursuing gross sales quantity, which has led the Alps model to start out contemplating adopting a lighter gross sales mannequin – embracing distributors.

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