(Yicai) Nov. 22 -- The transition from high-end gas cars to electric vehicles will take longer than imagined and the competition will be incredibly intense, according to William Li, the founder of Chinese new energy vehicle startup Nio.

The competition in the following years will become more intense, Chairman Li said during his speech at the firm’s ninth-anniversary ceremony. “Our business positioning and development directions now must make sure we will still have room for maneuver in the two most competitive years in the future.”

All departments of Nio have done very detailed two-year business plans since July and August to make long-term investments in core technologies, hike sales and service abilities, and to get ready for new products, Li noted. “Anything which cannot help the firm improve its financial situation within three years must be either cancelled or postponed.”

The two development directions of battery swaps and superfast charging are not contradictory to each other, Li said, responding to employees' questions. Nio has a great first-mover advantage in the business model of offering car owners an option of exchanging their empty batteries to new ones and it is time to promote the model in the whole industry, he said, adding that Nio has another four to five clients who are talking about such cooperation. Evidently, Nio and Changan Automobile announced a battery swap partnership yesterday.

Nio is confident it will survive the most competitive stage in the "qualifiers" and finally head to the finals as it forms battery swap alliances, increases its organizational efficiency and releases new sub-brands, Li said. “We will still have enough room for maneuvering in the next two years.”

Nio is building a sub-brand called Alps, priced from CNY200,000 to CNY300,000 (USD28,157 to USD42,235), public information shows. Moreover, it is planning another budget sub-brand called Firefly in the price range of CNY100,000 to CNY200,000. The first Alps model will be launched in the second half of 2025, and Firefly vehicles will debut in Europe, according to the Shanghai-based firm's plans.

Editor: Emmi Laine