(Yicai) Sept. 22 -- Chinese new energy vehicle startup Nio has released its first smartphone model to better connect phones and cars.

Priced between CNY6,499 and CNY7,499 (USD890 and 1,030), the Nio Phone has car-specific functions, such as allowing drivers to set up navigation routes on their phones and use the phone’s clipboard on the car without uploading any data to the cloud to ensure privacy and security, Nio’s founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer William Li said at the 2023 Nio Innovation and Technology Day yesterday.

Nio is the only carmaker that has developed its own smartphone. Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies installed its Hongmeng operation system in the Aito and Avatr NEV models, and Geely Holding Group’s Lynk & Co equipped smartphone maker Meizu’s Flyme Auto on its Lynk & Co 08 model.

Li did not disclose the shipment target or break-even point for the Nio Phone but said he hopes some non-Nio drivers will also purchase the handset, which has flagship configuration, high recognition, and no pre-installed commercial software.

Nio’s smartphone research and development team has about 600 people, mainly software-related staffers. The Nio Phone’s manufacturer is Lens Technology Xiangtan.

At the 2023 Nio Innovation and Technology Day, the Shanghai-based NEV startup also debuted its first self-developed chip, the NX6031 light detection and ranging control chip. With power consumption down 50 percent, the chip’s cost can be several hundreds of yuan lower.

The NX6031 LiDAR control chip is scheduled to begin mass production next month. Nio’s chip R&D team has 800 people.

Nio also showed a photo of a self-developed battery pack at the event yesterday.

If Nio wants its gross profit margin to exceed 20 percent, it must make batteries and chips by itself, Li said earlier. Batteries account for nearly 40 percent of vehicles’ costs, so if Nio produces them by itself, its gross profit could grow 8 percent, he added, noting that if the company also develops chips by itself, its gross profit could rise 10 percent.

Editor: Futura Costaglione