By CHEN Xiaotong
Nio, the Chinese EV startup that claimed to have no interest in the price war, has reduced prices across the board by 30,000 yuan (US$4,200).
First-time owners are entitled to a 6-year or 150,000-kilometer warranty. Battery swapping is no longer included as standard. New users now have the option to choose between charging at home or paying for battery swapping at charging stations.
For existing users, lifetime free battery swapping will continue.
The price reduction came three days after Nio released its Q1 financial report showing revenue up 7.7 percent year on year to 10.7 billion yuan, but only two thirds of Q4 last year. Net losses remain a woeful 4.7 billion yuan.
After Nio released the figures, Li Xiang, founder and CEO of Nio's rival Li Auto, took to Weibo to declare his acidic opinion that any automaker "with some basic common sense" should keep its gross profit margin between 15 percent and 20 percent. Li Auto's stands at 20 percent.
LI Bin, founder and CEO of Nio said on Monday that the company's move was not "reducing" but "adjusting" the price.
"there have been no changes to the car's configuration, it is not a downgrade or price reduction," he said. "It simply means that new cars no longer come with the previously bundled user rights."
