Can William Li Bin – ‘Elon Musk of China’ – really turn electric vehicle maker NIO into a ‘Tesla killer’?
Shanghai-based electric vehicle maker’s founder William Li Bin – known as the ‘Elon Musk of China’ – insists the company has a bright future, but he faces a race against time to succeed
Known as the Elon Musk of China, William Li Bin, the chief executive of electric vehicle (EV) maker NIO, shares a similar drive and confidence as his industry rival. Li, 45, will need those attributes going on recent events.
The Shanghai-based company lost US$2.8 billion in the 12 months ending June 2019 on revenue of US$1.2 billion.
NIO raised US$1 billion in its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2018. But it’s gone through that amount since then in marketing and real estate expenses.
And the EV manufacturer reportedly had less than US$500 million left at the end of June 2019.
In September, Li said in the company’s earnings report that NIO would implement cost-cutting measures such as reducing its workforce from 9,900 to 7,800 by the end of the third quarter.
In early December, 141 employees at NIO’s San Jose office were told that they would be laid off in another round of lay-offs.
In June, it had to recall about 5,000 of its ES8 electric SUVs after a series of battery fires in China, and an investigation unveiled a safety risk. Li said that it had “significantly affected [NIO’s] production and delivery results” because of the scramble to manufacture replacement batteries.
It’s no surprise that NIO’s shares have suffered. NIO was priced at US$6 per share when it went public, but the price closed at US$4.23 on January 30.
After spending US$36.5 billion in subsidies for EVs from 2009 to 2017, China ended subsidies for its 486 registered manufacturers in December 2019. Six months earlier, it had slashed the subsidies by 50 per cent.
