As demands for electric cars continue to rise, start-up companies are cashing in on the trend. Widely regarded as the Tesla of China, NIO is already well on the way to electric car dominance in the region. Recently, the Chinese start-up announced that aside from making electric cars, the company will soon enter the luxury car industry.
In a press conference held on Sunday, NIO founder William Li said that China's auto market is still growing and has yet to reach its apex potential.
In a statement acquired by Bloomberg, Mr. Li said, "Unlike developed markets such as America where the number of new cars and end-of-life vehicles is almost balanced, China's auto market growth is still incremental though it is reaching a watershed."
Mr. Li later added that electric car sales in the country continue to grow and the demand for a luxury car will continue to improve over the years.
Despite NIO's claims, market data does not conform to it. Car sales in China have been falling for six consecutive months in November.
Despite having an interesting fleet of car models, NIO is facing stiff competition in China. As such, the company is currently considering breaking into neighboring markets, as well as in other continents such as North America. Mr. Li said that NIO is currently conducting preliminary research with regards to expansion. Among those of utmost concerns are legal compliance and a viable business model that will adapt to local markets. Regardless of current developments, Mr. Li said that it is still early to release a more detailed plan.
NIO made headlines in the past following the company's successful New York initial public offering where the company was able to raise $1 billion. The offering raised NIO's value to more than $6 billion.
NIO started delivering its flagship seven-seater ES8 sports utility vehicle to customers in June. Additionally, the company also added the new ES6 model to its growing line up of cars earlier this month.
In order to cope up with growing demands, NIO claimed that the company ramped up the production of the ES8 SUV in the company's partner plan located in the eastern city of Hefei. NIO has promised that the company will deliver 10,000 vehicles to customers before the end of the year. According to estimates by some market analysts, NIO needs to sell at least 100,000 vehicles a year just to break even.
