- Nio’s CEO William Li predicts Chinese automakers will dominate half the global market by 2035.
- The EV startup’s two mass-market brands will have to sell cars in high numbers to meet Li’s goal.
- Xiaomi is also aiming to establish itself as one of the world’s biggest carmakers.
This year has been a very busy one for Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio. Not only has it launched a semi-solid state battery and continues to expand its battery-swapping network, but it’s also introduced two new sub-brands – Onvo and Firefly. Now, Nio chief executive William Li says he wants to see the brand become one of the world’s top 10 largest car manufacturers by 2035.
Li laid out his ambitions while speaking at a recent media conference in China. He said that he does not want to see Nio left behind by its “excellent Chinese peers” and doesn’t expect many car manufacturers to survive the current upheaval across the global market. Li thinks that in 2035, five of the world’s top 10 carmakers will be Chinese, and says the country’s brands could account for 40% of all new car sales, IT Home reports.
Read: Nio’s Affordable New Firefly EV Hatchback Has LEDs That Look Like iPhone Cameras
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard the boss of a new Chinese company announce grand ambitions to become one of the world’s largest automakers. In late 2022, a year before launching the SU7, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun said he sees a future where the technology giant could be one of the planet’s top 5 largest car brands. At the time, Jun suggested the world’s top 5 brands would account for 80% of the total new car market, and targets annual sales of over 10 million cars for Xiaomi to be in that club.
Nio will need to ensure both its Onvo and Firefly sub-brands are successful if it wants to establish itself as a global player. The first EV from Firefly is a hatchback similar in size to the BYD Dolphin. It has a cute exterior design that may appeal to tech-savvy Chinese buyers and rocks a large infotainment screen in the center of the dashboard. No details about its powertrain have been announced at this stage, although pre-orders have opened. Chinese prices will start at ¥148,800 or ~$20,400.
