NIO’s First Mass Market Brand Coming in September and 10% Cheaper than Tesla!

NIO plans to start selling the first model under a mass-market brand as early as September, according to founder and chief executive William Li. The production cost for these new electric vehicle models would be 10% less than that of Tesla’s Model Y. Li told investors on Tuesday that this would give NIO “better flexibility” in pricing its first model, codenamed Alps, which will feature battery-swapping technology. This advantage is due to China’s well-developed EV supply chain and NIO’s extensive research and development efforts over the years.

Li suggested that the luxury EV manufacturer might adopt a more aggressive pricing strategy to compete with rivals in the segment. The new brand will primarily target Chinese families and prioritize volume sales, while NIO’s original brand will continue to focus on gross margin.

In 2023, the net loss of the Shanghai-based company increased to RMB 20.7 billion ($2.9 billion) from RMB 14.4 billion the previous year, while its revenue grew by approximately 12.9%. NIO’s stock ended the day at $5.48, a 2.8% increase.

Lilium – Flying Electric Taxis – Another Crazy SPAC?

The flying taxis are coming!

Lilium is a German company who are developing electric air taxis – they are currently in talks to go public via a SPAC.

It seems like they are running out of great companies to SPAC and seems like people are focused on select around buzz words – like mobility and electric vehicles.

Another German company with very similar aims, Volocopter, opted to raise new capital on the private market, bringing in €200 million (about $238 million) for a Series D.