Electric car manufacturer NIO has been trying to become a premium brand for a while. The arrival of its vehicles in Europe revealed an interesting subscription model and, of course, its determination to become the Xiaomi of the electric car in Europe was promising. It’s failing badly for now, but those responsible have surprised us and are now expanding their claim: If electric cars don’t catch up, nothing will: let’s make a smartphone.

A mobile phone closely connected to their car. The firm’s CEO, William Li, unveiled the NIO Phone in Shanghai, highlighting the options these phones will have when used in cars: According to CNBC, the phone will feature a special button that acts as a key. car. You can actually control multiple cars with a single mobile phone or unlock a car when it is turned off. Although it is designed specifically for car owners, it will be available “to all consumers in China,” Li said.

Promising features. This smartphone features a 6.81-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with a resolution of 3,088 x 1,440 pixels, a maximum brightness of 1,800 nits, and support for adaptive refresh rate from 1 to 120 Hz. The SoC is the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and configurations with up to 16GB RAM and up to 1TB capacity.

It has three cameras with a 50 MP sensor (main IMX707, ultra-wide-angle IMX766 and telephoto) IMX890 and 2.8x optical zoom. It also integrates a 5,200 mAh battery with 66 W wired and 50 W wireless fast charging. Finally, it has IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.

NIO Phone wants to compete with iPhone (and Huawei). William Li stated that this Android-based smartphone will be $150 cheaper than the equivalent Huawei device. That firm recently launched the Mate 60 Pro, and NIO seems clear that they want to compete with that firm and, as Li stated in an interview in 2022, with Apple and its iPhones.

Direct to high range. The NIO Phone will have a starting price of 6,499 yuan (832 euros) for the model with 12 GB RAM and 512 GB storage, but will be available for 7,499 yuan (961 euros) for the model with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage. Euro). The phones will start to be delivered on September 28.

No plans for Europe. Li stated that NIO has no plans to offer the smartphone in Europe, at least until the market grows. The manufacturer currently operates in five European countries, including Germany, and according to the CEO, they should focus primarily on the development of local services for their cars. However, the company is also considering potential measures that would hinder the sale of Chinese electric vehicles on the old continent.

NIO is not doing well. As noted by Reuters, the accounts of the Chinese company are not going well at the moment, as it made a loss of 6 billion 120 million yuan (784 million euros) in the same quarter last year in its latest financial results. It lost 2,750 million yuan (352 million euros).

But there is room for maneuver.. The company, which received a $1.1 billion investment from CYVN Holdings, still has $4.3 billion in cash. There are clear signs of recovery after the sales decline in the first half of the year: vehicle deliveries increased by 81% in August, thanks to the improved popularity of the SUV ES6. In fact, 94,352 vehicles were sold in the first eight months of the year; This figure increased by 31.9% compared to the same period in 2022.

Image | Lei Xing

in Xataka | NIO aspires to be the “Chinese Tesla” of the electric car, but its biggest challenge is not to end up like those who have tried and failed before.