NIO

William Li had already co-founded Bitauto (an automotive website, IPO on NYSE) and was a successful serial entrepreneur before starting NIO. He founded NIO in 2014 because he believed China needed a premium EV brand that could compete with Tesla — but with a distinctly Chinese approach.

NIO's first vehicle wasn't a car — it was the EP9, a 1,341-horsepower electric supercar that broke the Nürburgring lap record for electric vehicles. This established NIO's engineering credibility before the consumer vehicles (ES8, ES6) launched.

NIO sells premium electric vehicles in China and Europe. But the real innovation is their business model: Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS).

Customers can buy a NIO car without the battery (saving $10,000-$15,000) and pay a monthly subscription for battery access. They use NIO's battery swap stations to exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones in three minutes — no waiting at a charger.

NIO also earns from NIO Life (lifestyle brand), NIO Power (charging infrastructure), and technology licensing.

NIO ET7 (sedan), NIO ET5/ET5 Touring (mid-size sedan), NIO ES8 (large SUV), NIO ES6 (mid-size SUV), NIO EC7/EC6 (coupe SUV), NIO EP9 (supercar), NIO Power Swap Stations (2,300+), Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS subscription), ONVO (sub-brand), Firefly (sub-brand).

NIO grows through product range expansion, battery swap infrastructure, and international expansion. The battery swap network — over 2,300 stations in China — is a competitive moat nobody else has replicated at scale.

NIO launched in Norway (2021) and Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark (2022). The ONVO and Firefly sub-brands target mid-market and entry-level segments that NIO's main brand doesn't reach.

Abu Dhabi's CYVN Holdings invested $2.2 billion in 2023, providing capital for the next growth phase.

NIO nearly went bankrupt in 2019. The company was burning over $1 billion per year, deliveries were below targets, and a battery recall cost hundreds of millions.

The stock cratered to $1.19. Li personally invested additional money and eventually secured a $1 billion investment from the Hefei city government in exchange for NIO moving its headquarters there.

NIO survived, but the experience scarred the company. Competition in China is ferocious — BYD, XPeng, Li Auto, and dozens of others are fighting for the same customers.

NIO's premium positioning means lower volume.

Tencent, Baidu, Sequoia Capital China, Hillhouse Capital, Hefei City Government ($1B bailout), Abu Dhabi CYVN Holdings ($2.2B)