CHENGDU, China / SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s electric vehicle manufacturer (EV), Nio Inc, which competes with conventional premium manufacturers, including Daimler AG and BMW, could make mass market products under a different market, its chief executive said .
“As EV technologies increase and battery costs fall, it is possible that we may enter the massive market, but certainly not with the Nio brand,” Nio CEO William Li told reporters on Sunday. He did not give further details.
Nio did not immediately respond to a request for further information. The company currently supplies three sports utility vehicle (SUV) models built at its factory in Hefei, which are usually higher than 300,000 yuan ($ 46,200).
Nio, who also competes with Tesla Inc in China, unveiled its first sedan model on Saturday as it sees a larger share of the world’s largest car market.
Nio delivered 43,728 vehicles last year and has a market capitalization of more than $ 92 billion, which conventional car manufacturers Daimler and General Motors Co.
($ 1 = 6.4898 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; edited by Jane Wardell