♪♪ ♪♪ - TODAY ON TECHRIDES.

I'M WITH GANESH IYER OF ELECTRIC CAR MANUFACTURER, NIO.

GANESH IS THE EXECUTIVE VP AND MANAGING DIRECTOR OF NIO USA, AND IS THE GLOBAL CIO FOR NIO.

HEADQUARTERED IN SHANGHAI, CHINA, NIO WAS STARTED IN 2014 BY FOUNDER AND CEO WILLIAM LI.

NIO IS A PIONEER IN CHINA'S PREMIUM EV MARKET, DRIVING INNOVATION IN CONNECTIVITY, AUTONOMOUS DRIVING, AND CHARGING SOLUTIONS.

GET TO KNOW NIO AND GANESH AS WE RIDE IN A NIO ES8 AND DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF EV DRIVING, BATTERY SWAP STATIONS, BATTERY AS A SERVICE, AND THE NIO EP9 HYPER-CAR.

HI EVERYBODY, I'M EDWIN MARCIAL.

WELCOME TO TECHRIDES.

TODAY, I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BEING WITH GANESH IYER.

HE IS THE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR NIO USA, AND HE'S THE GLOBAL CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR NIO.

GANESH, WELCOME TO TECHRIDES.

- THANK YOU, EDWIN.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AS PART OF YOUR TECHRIDE'S LATEST EDITION.

- SO I'M GONNA ASK, A LOT OF PEOPLE MIGHT NOT KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT NIO.

SO WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE COMPANY, AND WHEN IT WAS STARTED, AND WHAT THE CULTURE, AND THE HISTORY OF NIO IS?

- NIO IS A RELATIVELY YOUNG COMPANY.

WE STARTED IN 2014, SO WE ARE ABOUT A SEVEN YEAR OLD COMPANY.

SO TYPICALLY WHEN A STARTUP, YOU KNOW, THE FOUNDERS COME UP WITH A VISION AND THEN START THE COMPANY, WHAT I'VE SEEN IS USUALLY THE COMPANIES ARE BORN IN, YOU KNOW, THE FOUNDERS GARAGE IN A CITY, IN A STATE.

THEN ONCE THEY ACQUIRE THE FIRST CUSTOMER, AND THEN FEW CUSTOMERS, THEY TRY TO FIGURE IT OUT, HOW DO WE GO GLOBAL?

WHEREAS IN THE CASE OF NIO, IT WAS JUST THE OPPOSITE.

SO OUR, YOU KNOW, MY CHAIRMAN AND THE FOUNDER, MR. WILLIAM LI, HE HAD A VISION.

HE SAID HE WANTS TO ATTRACT THE BEST TALENT WHEREVER THEY EXIST ON THE EARTH.

SO HE WANTS TO ATTRACT THE TALENT FIRST, THEN SET UP THE COMPANY STRUCTURE ACCORDINGLY AFTER THAT.

SO THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE, RIGHT?

SO OUR DESIGN CENTER IS IN MUNICH.

AS YOU KNOW, EUROPEANS HAVE ONE OF THE BEST DESIGNERS.

- YEAH.

- AND THEN SILICON VALLEY OFFICE FOR NIO, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE INNOVATION COME FROM.

- INTERESTING.

- AND THEN IN CHINA, WHICH IS OUR HEADQUARTERS, IN SHANGHAI, THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE VEHICLE ENGINEERING, INDUSTRIALIZATION, AND, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER FUNCTIONS ARE HEADQUARTERED.

SO IT'S BASICALLY, JOKINGLY I SAY, NIO IS A GLOBAL COMPANY WITH EUROPEAN DESIGN, AMERICAN BRAIN, AND THEN CHINA BODY, RIGHT?

SO IT'S THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS COMBINED PUT TOGETHER, THAT'S WHO WE ARE.

- RIGHT, RIGHT.

- SO IN TERMS OF OUR FIRST PRODUCT THAT WE ARE DRIVING, NIO ES8.

SO THIS IS A THREE YEAR OLD CAR ACTUALLY.

SO WE LAUNCHED THIS IN 2017 IN SHANGHAI, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THE NIO DAY.

SO THE UNIQUENESS ABOUT THIS CAR IS THIS IS OUR FLAGSHIP CAR.

SO THIS IS A SEVEN SEATER, FULLY ALUMINUM BODY, ELECTRIC, SMART CONNECTED, ELECTRIC AUTONOMOUS CAR.

SO THIS ONE IS A LEVEL 2 AUTONOMOUS CAR.

SO AS YOU CAN FEEL, THE INTERIOR IS EXTREMELY COZY AND VERY PREMIUM-LIKE.

SO YOU WANNA SIT IN THE CAR WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A LONG DRIVE.

- RIGHT.

- SO WE HAVE SOLD, CUMULATIVELY TO DATE, WE HAVE SOLD ABOUT NEARLY 150,000 CARS, PREDOMINANTLY IN CHINA.

SO ES8, ES6, WHICH IS A FIVE SEATER PREMIUM SUV, AND THEN EC6, WHICH IS A COUPE VERSION OF THE SUV.

SO WE HAVE THREE DISTINCT PRODUCTS WHICH ARE BUILT ON WHICH I CALL IT AS NIO TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM 1.0.

SO ALL THE 150,000 CLOSE TO ONE 150,000 CARS ARE BUILT ON THE NP 1.0 PLATFORM.

VERY RECENTLY, AS OF OCTOBER 31ST, YOU KNOW, WE LAUNCHED OUR ES8, THE CAR THAT WE ARE DRIVING, IN OSLO, IN NORWAY.

SO THAT'S OUR FIRST LAUNCH OUTSIDE OF CHINA, SO WHICH WE ARE VERY, VERY PROUD OF.

- 'CAUSE NORWAY IS YOUR OTHER MARKET RIGHT NOW.

SO CHINA AND THEN NORWAY.

- CHINA AND NORWAY ARE THE TWO MARKETS WHERE WE ARE SELLING THE VEHICLE RIGHT NOW.

- AND HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SELLING IN NORWAY?

- WE'VE BEEN, IT'S ONLY A MONTH.

- OKAY.

- IT'S ONLY A MONTH.

- AND WHY NORWAY?

THAT'S AN INTERESTING CHOICE.

- IT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

YOU KNOW, NORWAY IS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, IT'S A VERY EV-FRIENDLY COUNTRY, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, OIL DEPOSITS AND WHATNOT.

BUT THEY ARE VERY, VERY EV FRIENDLY ECONOMY IN THE COUNTRY THERE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF INCENTIVE SUBSIDIES, AND THE NORWEGIANS LOVE THIS ELECTRIFICATION.

SO EVEN TESLA, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, I THINK OUTSIDE OF UNITED STATES, THE FIRST MARKET THEY ENTERED OUTSIDE OF U.S. WAS NORWAY.

- REALLY?

INTERESTING.

I DIDN'T KNOW THAT.

- YEAH.

SO NORWAY, NORWEGIANS, THEY LOVE IT.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ALREADY, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF HAPPY NORWEGIAN USERS WHO OWN OUR NIO ES8 AND STARTED DRIVING IN THE CITY OF OSLO, AND OTHER LOCATIONS IN NORWAY.

- OKAY, AND DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO EXPAND BEYOND NORWAY AND TO OTHER COUNTRIES?

- OH, ABSOLUTELY.

AS YOU MENTIONED, NORWAY IS THE POINT OF ENTRY FOR EUROPEAN.

SO WE DO HAVE PLANS TO EXPAND OUR BUSINESS, AND START DELIVERING CARS, AND SELL CARS IN OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE AS WELL.

SO, WHICH YOU WILL HEAR, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF OUR NEXT YEAR'S BUSINESS PLAN.

♪♪ THE SYSTEMS THAT POWER THIS CAR THAT IS DEVELOPED IN THE U.S., IT'S MAINLY THE DIGITAL SYSTEMS AND DIGITAL COCKPIT.

SO DIGITAL COCKPIT MEANS, YOU KNOW, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, THE HUD UNIT THAT WE SEE INSIDE THIS CAR.

- YEAH.

- SO THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THAT IS BEING DEVELOPED BY, YOU KNOW, SMART ENGINEERS HERE IN THE U.S., NIO U.S.

ENGINEERS.

- YEAH.

- AND THEN THE DIGITAL SYSTEMS, WHICH IS MAINLY THE, YOU KNOW, THE BRAIN OF THE CAR, WHICH SENDS ALL THE SIGNALS TO VARIOUS ECU'S, ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNITS, LIKE WINDSHIELD CONTROLLER, SEAT CONTROLLER, SO ON AND SO FORTH.

SO TYPICALLY THE OEM'S, THEY BUY THESE ECU'S FROM TIER ONE SUPPLIERS LIKE BOSCH, CONTINENTAL, ET CETERA.

SO WE INVENTED OURSELVES AND WE CREATED SOMETHING CALLED DOMAIN CONTROLLERS.

SO, WHICH IS VERY UNIQUE.

I THINK THAT'S WHY, YOU KNOW, NIO IS, AGAIN, DIFFERENTIATED BECAUSE WE INNOVATE, WE TRY TO ACCELERATE THE GOAL MARKET OF LAUNCHING THE PRODUCT FASTER.

SO WE CREATED OUR OWN DOMAIN CONTROLLERS ON ES8, FOR EXAMPLE, RIGHT?

- OKAY.

- SO, ALL OF THAT TECHNOLOGY IS BEING DEVELOPED BY THE NIO U.S.

TEAM HERE.

GLOBALLY, WE ARE TRACKING ABOUT 16,000 TO 16,500 NIO EMPLOYEES WORLDWIDE.

- YEAH.

- AND IN THE NIO U.S., IT IS ABOUT 225 ENGINEERS AS WE SPEAK.

- YEAH.

- AND THEN IN EUROPE, IT'S MAINLY OUR DESIGN CENTER.

SO WE DON'T HAVE ENGINEERING TEAMS AS OF RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S MAINLY THE DESIGNERS ALL IN THERE.

AND THE REST OF THE WORKFORCE IS PREDOMINANTLY AND THROUGHOUT SPREAD IN CHINA, YOU KNOW, MAINLY SHANGHAI, BEIJING, HEFEI, TO NAME A FEW CITIES THERE IN CHINA.

♪♪ - CARS IN GENERAL ARE SO AUTOMATED, THERE'S SO MUCH SOFTWARE BUILT IN NOW, BUT I WOULD IMAGINE THIS CAR IN PARTICULAR, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT YOUR TEAM IS DOING IS BUILT RIGHT HERE IN THE CAR, RIGHT?

THE SOFTWARE.

- THAT'S RIGHT.

SO WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS, YOU KNOW, IT'S SOFTWARE TEAM, FIRMWARE TEAM, AND THEN THE HARDWARE TEAMS, RIGHT?

SO IN THE SOFTWARE WORLD OR IN THE FIRMWARE WORLD TODAY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING CALLED FOTA, F-O-T-A, WHICH STANDS FOR FIRMWARE OVER-THE-AIR UPDATE.

- YEAH.

- SO AS AN ANALOGY I CAN GIVE IT TO YOU AS, I DON'T KNOW, A SMARTPHONE, IPHONE OR ANDROID PHONE.

THERE ARE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, THE BUG FIXES AND NEW FEATURE RELEASES.

AND THERE ARE MILLIONS OF UNITS BEING SOLD AROUND THE WORLD, RIGHT?

PUSH OF A BUTTON, YOU WANNA GET THE LATEST VERSION OF THAT FEATURE OF THE SOFTWARE ONTO THE FLEET.

SO THAT CONSTRUCT NOW, I THINK THERE'S ONLY TWO OR THREE COMPANIES, AUTO COMPANIES THAT HAVE PERFECTED THAT, AND NIO IS ONE OF THEM.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR FOTA FEATURE.

- YEAH.

- SO, YOU KNOW, THE SUCCESS RATE OF FOTA IS OVER 99.5% AS WE SPEAK, WHICH MEANS THE ENGINEERS DEVELOP NEW FEATURE SETS OR FIX SOME BUGS, PUSH OF A BUTTON, THAT CODE, LATEST CODE BASE, GOES THROUGH THE CLOUD, AND THEN IT GETS DEPLOYED ONTO THE PRODUCTION FLEET.

SO JUST IMAGINE THAT, RIGHT?

THAT'S, SO OTHERWISE THE USERS WILL HAVE TO BRING THEIR VEHICLES TO THE SERVICE STATIONS TO GO GET THAT LATEST SOFTWARE APPLIED.

BUT WHEN THE CAR IS SLEEPING, YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUSH A BUTTON, IT DOES THE MAGIC.

SO WE ARE EXTREMELY PROUD OF OUR ENGINEERING TEAM'S INNOVATION IN THE FOTA TO MAKE THAT AS A HIGHLY RELIABLE PART OF DEPLOYING THE CODE BASE ONTO THE CAR.

- THIS CAR, ONE OF THE UNIQUE THINGS IT HAS, ITS BUILT IN AI ASSISTANT, RIGHT?

ONE OF THE WORLD'S FIRST, OUTSIDE OF MAYBE, I MEAN, YOU COULD SAY ALEXA, BUT THIS ONE HAS A PROPRIETARY BUILT IN AI PLATFORM, RIGHT?

- THAT'S CORRECT.

WE CALL IT AS NOMI.

AS YOU CAN SEE THE NOMI, THIS IS THE...

SO NOMI IS OUR FIRST IN-CAR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT.

WE CALL IT A DIGITAL COMPANION.

- OKAY.

- RIGHT?

SO NOMI IS PHYSICAL.

AS YOU CAN SEE, IT IS A PHYSICAL THING THAT SITS ON DASHBOARD OF ES8, ES6, AND EC6.

- YEAH.

- AND SO IT'S PHYSICAL AND IT IS CONTEXTUAL.

SO THEN NOMI KNOWS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, YOUR PERSONA.

THE MORE YOU DRIVE AND INTERACT WITH NOMI, NOMI KNOWS YOU.

♪♪ - SO ONE OF THE REALLY COOL THINGS THAT I READ ABOUT NIO IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES, ONE OF THE BIG CONCERNS IS ALWAYS VEHICLE RANGE, AND RECHARGING, AND ALL OF THAT.

BUT NIO HAS A REALLY INTERESTING APPROACH TO RECHARGING INDEED.

AND I GUESS, I'M NOT SURE, MAYBE NOT ONE OF THE FIRST ONES TO DO IT, BUT YOU ACTUALLY SWAP OUT THE BATTERY, RIGHT?

YOU HAVE THE ABILITY, SO THE CAR CAN GO IN, AND INSTEAD OF TAKING HOWEVER LONG TO RECHARGE THE BATTERY, YOU JUST IN FIVE MINUTES SWAP OUT THE BATTERY, PUT IN A WHOLE NEW, FRESH BATTERY THAT'S FULLY CHARGED, AND AWAY YOU GO.

- THAT'S RIGHT.

SEE, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY THE EV'S ARE STILL NOT IN THE MAINSTREAM IS THE, WE LOOKED AT THE RESEARCH, AND THE RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE MOST IMPEDING REASONS WHY THE BROADER ADOPTION OF EV IS STILL, IT'S NOT THERE, IS BECAUSE OF THE WHOLE, YOU KNOW, NOTION AROUND THE BATTERY ITSELF, RIGHT?

AS YOU KNOW, THE MOST EXPENSIVE COMPONENT IN ANY EV IS A BATTERY.

- YEAH.

- AND THEN ALONG WITH THE BATTERY, OF COURSE, THERE IS A CONCERN OF THIS, YOU KNOW, RANGE ANXIETY COMES IN.

- RANGE ANXIETY.

- RIGHT, RANGE ANXIETY COMES IN.

- YEAH.

- SO WE FUNDAMENTALLY TRY TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.

HOW CAN WE REDUCE THE RANGE ANXIETY SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THAT AS A WORRY FREE PROPOSITION SO THAT WE CAN DRIVE MORE EV ADOPTION?

THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE THOUGHT INTO THIS BATTERY SWAP AS A TECHNOLOGY.

SO IN COUNTRIES LIKE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE WHERE LESS POPULATION DENSITY, WE CAN AFFORD TO PUT IN THE SUPERCHARGING NETWORK, BUT IN COUNTRIES LIKE CHINA, INDIA, AND OTHERS WHERE POPULATION DENSITY IS MUCH HIGHER.

SO THERE ISN'T AS MUCH, YOU KNOW, REAL ESTATE AVAILABLE TO INSTALL THE SUPERCHARGING NETWORK AND OTHERS.

SO AT NIO, WHEN WE THOUGHT ABOUT THIS, THE WHOLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO WE NEED TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE CHOICES TO OUR USERS.

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE DID.

SO WE HAVE AT HOME AND ON THE ROAD, THERE ARE TWO APPROACHES.

AT HOME IS MAINLY THE CHARGING SOLUTIONS.

SO WE HAVE TWO TYPES OF HOME CHARGERS THAT WE PROVIDE TODAY.

ONE IS, YOU KNOW, HOME CHARGER 2.0, AND THEN THE SECOND IS HOME CHARGER PLUS AS WE CALL IT.

SO THE DIFFERENCE IS THE HOME CHARGER IS, IT'S A SEVEN KILOWATT AC CHARGER, AND THEN THE HOME CHARGER PLUS IS A 20 KILOWATT FAST CHARGER, IT'S A DC CHARGER.

SO THE 20 KILOWATT, YOU KNOW, HOME CHARGER CAN CHARGE THREE TIMES FASTER THAN THE AC CHARGER.

SO THESE ARE THE TWO SOLUTIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE OFFER TO OUR USERS, WE HAVE OVER 90,000 INSTALLATIONS OF HOME CHARGERS TODAY IN CHINA ALONE, RIGHT?

THAT'S QUITE A LOT ADOPTION.

- YEAH.

- AND SECOND IS ON THE ROAD CHARGERS.

SO ON THE ROAD, SO WE HAVE SEVERAL CHOICES, OKAY?

OF COURSE THE MOST FAMOUS ONE IS THE BATTERY SWAP TECHNOLOGY, RIGHT?

- YEAH.

- SO... - SO YOU HAVE SPECIAL LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT CHINA TODAY WHERE SOMEBODY CAN DRIVE IN AND GET THEIR BATTERY JUST SWAPPED OUT?

- THAT'S CORRECT.

BY THE WAY, WE ARE SO EXCITED ABOUT OUR INNOVATION AROUND THE BATTERY SWAP TECHNOLOGY.

WE HAVE OVER 1,400 APPROVED PATENTS IN THE POWER SWAPPING TECHNOLOGY TODAY.

NIO IS THE ONLY COMPANY WHO HAS THAT KIND OF A LEADERSHIP.

- AND YOU HAVE THE BATTERY AS A SERVICE, WHICH IS, IF I UNDERSTAND RIGHT, YOU CAN BUY THE CAR WITHOUT THE BATTERY, AND THEN JUST, YOU KNOW, I GUESS YOU'LL NEED SOME BATTERY AT SOME POINT, BUT YOU CAN THEN GO AND JUST KEEP GETTING NEW BATTERIES AS YOU NEED IT WITH THESE DIFFERENT BATTERY SWAP STATIONS, IS THAT RIGHT?

- THAT'S RIGHT, YEAH.

ALWAYS NIO BUSINESS MODEL COMES IN AS A RESULT OF SOME INNOVATION IN THE TECHNOLOGY FIRST, RIGHT?

- RIGHT.

- SO, AS I MENTIONED, THE FIRST THING IS PROVE OURSELF THAT THE BATTERY SWAP IS A VIABLE AND SCALABLE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

- YEAH.

- THAT'S, NIO IS PERFECTED IN THAT.

ALL IT TAKES IS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE DEVELOPED A POWER MAP.

FOR EXAMPLE, AS A USER, WE ARE DRIVING THIS CAR, AND WE WANNA GO FROM, YOU KNOW, BEIJING TO SHANGHAI AS AN EXAMPLE.

- YEAH.

- SO YOU JUST CLICK ON THE POWER MAP, USING IOT TECHNOLOGIES, IT RECOMMENDS THE BEST ROUTE FOR YOU TO GET TO THE FINAL DESTINATION.

SO IT'LL MAP OUT ALL THE SWAPPING STATIONS ON THE WAY, AND THEN ALSO THE SUPERCHARGES, AND WE CALL IT AS NIO POWER CHARGERS.

SO SPEAKING OF THE, YOU KNOW, POWER SWAPPING STATIONS, YOU GO TO THE NEAREST SWAPPING STATION RECOMMENDED BY THE POWER MAP, AND THEN PUSH OF A BUTTON FROM YOUR INSTRUMENT CLUSTER, THE CAR PARKS ITSELF INTO THE SWAPPING STATION.

BY THE WAY, THE SWAPPING STATION TAKES ONLY THREE PARKING SPOTS SPACE.

SO IT IS RELATIVELY A SMALLER REAL ESTATE FOOTPRINT THAT YOU NEED.

- [EDWIN] YEAH.

- AND THEN THE CAR PARKS ITSELF, THEN EVERYTHING IS DONE BY THE ROBOTS AUTOMATICALLY.

ESSENTIALLY THE ROBOT COMES OUT, AND THEN REMOVES A BATTERY FROM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR CAR, AND PUTS THAT OLD BATTERY INTO A SLOT, AND THEN TAKES A FRESH, FULLY CHARGED BATTERY, PUTS IT BACK INTO YOUR CAR, THEN IT DOES THE VALIDATION, AND IN LESS THAN THREE MINUTES, YOU'RE READY TO GO WITH THE FULL BATTERY SWAPS, COMPLETELY, FULLY POWERED BATTERY FOR YOURSELF.

SO IN THREE MINUTES, IT'S MUCH, MUCH FASTER THAN EVEN FILLING A GAS TANK.

STILL THIS IS A PREMIUM CAR, AND IT IS STILL A RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE CAR.

YOU KNOW, IT'S APPROXIMATELY $70,000 TO $80,000, IF I WERE TO CONVERT INTO U.S.

DOLLARS.

- YEAH.

- HOW CAN WE DRIVE MORE PURCHASING POWER TO NOMINAL USERS WHO CANNOT AFFORD THAT MUCH MONEY?

SO WE SAID, YOU KNOW, THE MOST EXPENSIVE IS THE BATTERY.

SO IF YOU BUY THIS CAR USING A BATTERY AS A SERVICE BUSINESS MODEL, YOUR INITIAL UPFRONT COST IS REDUCED BY APPROXIMATELY $10,500.

SO YOUR UPFRONT COST IS REDUCED.

THEN YOU PAY A MONTHLY, $150 EQUIVALENT AS A SUBSCRIPTION FEE FOR THE BATTERY.

- OKAY.

- SO THAT WAY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE BATTERY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE RESIDUAL VALUE GOING DOWN OF THE CAR AS A RESULT OF POTENTIALLY DEGRADATION OF THE BATTERY.

NIO TAKES CARE OF ALL OF THAT, RIGHT?

YOU JUST GO PAY THE MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION FEE.

YOU CAN DO AS MANY SWAPS AS YOU WANT.

EVERY TIME YOU GET AN ABSOLUTE BRAND NEW BATTERY, AND THEN YOU ARE GONE.

IN THREE MINUTES, YOUR CAR IS FULLY CHARGED WITH A BRAND NEW BATTERY.

- THAT'S A REALLY INTERESTING APPROACH.

AND I WONDER AS YOU'RE SAYING THAT, DO YOU THINK THAT OVER TIME THAT AS IT GETS ADOPTED MAYBE BY OTHER MANUFACTURERS, THAT THERE MAY BE A STANDARD BATTERY THAT CAN GET SWAPPED OUT?

SO IF I PULL INTO, YOU KNOW, TODAY I PULL IN, I JUST GO, AND I JUST GET GAS, AND THERE'S, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS KIND OF THE SAME GAS TANK AND GAS THAT YOU CAN USE, SO IT'S FUNGIBLE ACROSS ALL CARS, DO YOU THINK THAT'LL BE SIMILAR WHERE YOU CAN HAVE, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY HAS THIS SAME SIZE BATTERY, AND YOU CAN PULL IN TO A BATTERY SWAP STATION REGARDLESS OF THE KIND OF CAR YOU HAVE AND JUST GO OFF WITH A NEW BATTERY?

- YEAH, YEAH, AND THAT'S WHERE THE INDUSTRY IS LEADING UP TO.

SO EVERY CAR THAT NIO PRODUCES, THE CURRENT PLUS THE FUTURE.

- YEAH.

- SO WE HAVE THE BATTERY SWAPPING TECHNOLOGY EMBEDDED IN THE CAR.

ONE OF THE REASONS WHY IT IS, IS BECAUSE ALL THE BATTERIES, THE DIMENSIONS, AND THE, YOU KNOW, SIZE OF THE BATTERY, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME.

- RIGHT.

- EXACTLY THE SAME.

SO IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER YOU ARE DRIVING AN ES8, ES6 OR FUTURE ET7.

- RIGHT.

- IT DOESN'T MATTER.

WE UPGRADED THE SWAPPING TECHNOLOGY.

NOW THE 2.0 VERSION OF THE NIO SWAPPING STATION, YOU CAN DO 13 SWAPS, 13 BATTERIES ARE IN THE 2.0 SWAPPING STATION.

SO ONE SLOT FOR THE OLD BATTERY BEING REMOVED FROM THE CAR THAT'S COMING FOR A ROTATION, AND THE 12 BRAND NEW BATTERY.

312 SWAPS PER DAY PER STATION THAT WE ARE ABLE TO DO AT NOW.

AGAIN, THAT'S TO SUPPORT THAT GROWING DEMAND.

AND SO, 'CAUSE WE WANNA DRIVE THE BEST USER EXPERIENCE.

WE DON'T WANT THE USERS TO WAIT TOO LONG IN THE SWAPPING STATIONS.

AND I DIDN'T TALK ABOUT THE NIO POWER CHARGERS, SO WHICH IS A SUPER CHARGER.

- YEAH.

- THAT IS ALSO THERE DEPLOYED IN THE EXPRESS WAYS THROUGHOUT IN CHINA RIGHT NOW, AND THEN THAT ALSO WILL FOLLOW WHEREVER NIO ENTERS.

- AND SO A SUPERCHARGER, HOW FAST CAN YOU CHARGE THE CAR?

- SUPERCHARGER, IT'S ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FROM 20% TO 80% SOCS, IS THE STATE OF CHARGE.

WE CAN DO THIS IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES.

- OKAY.

- YEAH, IT'S QUITE FAST.

BUT SWAPPING STATION, A POWER SWAP IS ABOUT THREE MINUTES.

- RIGHT.

- SO THREE MINUTES, 30 MINUTES, DC CHARGER AT HOME FOUR HOURS.

SO WE GIVE THE FLEXIBLE CHOICES TO THE USER.

SO THAT'S WHY IT IS, WE CALL IT AS CHARGEABLE, SWAPPABLE, AND UPGRADEABLE, AN END-TO-END POWER ECOSYSTEM.

♪♪ - NIO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MEMBERS OF FORMULA E, RIGHT?

AND THAT WAS, FORMULA E IS KIND OF LIKE THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE RACING PROGRAM.

SO YOU HAVE FORMULA 1, WHICH EVERYBODY'S FAMILIAR WITH, AND THEN THERE'S FORMULA E, AND NIO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MEMBERS.

AND IN FACT, THE FIRST NIO CAR WAS A SPORTS CAR, RIGHT?

- THAT'S RIGHT.

- WHAT MODEL WAS THAT?

DO YOU REMEMBER?

- SO FORMULA E AND EP9.

IT'S A, WE CALL IT A SUPERCAR.

- OKAY.

- SO THE EP9 IS ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE, AND THE NINE IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER IN THE NUMERICAL SYSTEM.

SO THAT'S HOW WE NAMED IT.

YOU KNOW, THE EP9 WAS LAUNCHED WHEN, YOU KNOW, WE REBRANDED OURSELF, YOU KNOW.

NIO IS PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS NEXTEV.

AND IN 2016, WE RENAMED OURSELF AND REBRANDED OURSELF FROM NEXTEV TO NIO.

- OKAY.

- SO AS PART OF THAT REBRANDING, WE ALSO LAUNCHED OUR SUPERCAR PROGRAM CALLED EP9.

AND WE ALSO SET SOME WORLD RECORD IN NURBURGRING RACETRACK IN GERMANY.

IT WAS THE FASTEST ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE CAR TO COMPLETE A COMPLETE LAP IN THE NURBURGRING RACETRACK.

- WOW.

- THEN WE DIDN'T STOP THERE.

YOU KNOW, THERE IS A MISNOMER THAT PERFORMANCE AND AUTONOMY CANNOT COEXIST.

WE HAD SOME OF THE SMARTEST ENGINEERS, AND THEY'VE WORKED ON THE SUPERCAR.

BY THE WAY, IT WAS BUILT IN OUR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM FACILITY IN OXFORD, OUTSIDE OF THE LONDON.

SO THESE THREE ENGINEERS THEY'VE WORKED FOR ABOUT A LITTLE OVER THREE MONTHS, AND THEY CONVERTED THE SUPERCAR INTO AN AUTONOMOUS SUPERCAR.

SO WE PUT THE GPS, ANTENNAS, AND THE BASIC SENSOR SYSTEMS ON THE EP9, AND WE SHIPPED THAT PRODUCT FROM UK TO UNITED STATES.

AND WE RAN A COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL LAP AUTONOMOUSLY AT THE COTA TRACK, C-O-T-A, WHICH IS CIRCUIT OF AMERICA TRACK IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.

- WOW.

- AUTONOMOUSLY, THAT CAR ACTUALLY TOOK A COMPLETE ROUND, AND THEN SET A WORLD RECORD.

- REALLY?

- THINK ABOUT IT.

- SO IT TOOK THE LAP, AND IT DID IT AUTONOMOUSLY, AND IT DID IT QUICKLY.

I MEAN, AND IT WASN'T JUST KIND OF SLOWLY DRIVING... - IT IS NOT, IT'S A FASTEST, YOU KNOW.

- SET A WORLD RECORD.

- SET A WORLD RECORD.

- THAT'S PHENOMENAL.

- SO WE ARE SUPER PROUD OF THAT.

SO THAT WAS THE, YOU KNOW, EP9 PRODUCT.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU CANNOT DRIVE THAT CAR ON THE MAIN ROADS, IT'S MAINLY FOR THE PERFORMANCE TRACKS.

♪♪ - LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU A LITTLE BIT.

SO YOU'RE THE GLOBAL CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR NIO.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR THOUGHTS IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE AROUND, YOU KNOW, HOW YOU BUILD YOUR TEAMS, HOW YOU LEAD YOUR TEAMS?

- NIO IS A VALUE DRIVEN COMPANY, BECAUSE WILLIAM IS A PEOPLE LEADER, AND HE'S A TECHNOLOGIST, HE'S AN INNOVATOR, AT THE SAME TIME HE DEEPLY PASSIONS AND CARES ABOUT THE PEOPLE, ALL THE NIO'ERS GLOBALLY, REGARDLESS OF THE CULTURE, REGARDLESS OF THE GENDER.

SO HE BELIEVES IN THE PEOPLE.

GREAT PEOPLE MAKE GREAT COMPANIES, AS YOU KNOW.

- RIGHT.

YOU ALSO WORKED AT TESLA FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER.

AND I'M CURIOUS, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

YOU REPORTED DIRECTLY TO ELON MUSK, RIGHT?

- THAT'S CORRECT.

- WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU?

- IT'S TREMENDOUS, TREMENDOUS, YOU KNOW?

I WILL CHERISH EVERY SINGLE MOMENT THAT I WORKED PRIOR TO JOINING NIO AT TESLA.

SO I SPENT NEARLY CLOSE TO FIVE YEARS WORKING THERE, AND I LED THE E-COMMERCE SYSTEM CALLED MYTESLA, WHICH IS, AGAIN, IT'S ON THE TESLA.COM.

IF YOU WANT TO, YOU KNOW, CONFIGURE, BUY YOU YOUR CAR, YOU KNOW, MODEL S OR MODEL X, OR HAVE YOU.

SO ALL THAT, YOU KNOW, THE SYSTEM WAS BUILT BY ME AND MY TEAM, THE ECOMMERCE SYSTEM THERE.

- YEAH.

- SO TESLA IS A HEAVY ENGINEERING CULTURE, RIGHT?

AND IT'S EVERY SINGLE DAY IS QUITE STRESSFUL FOR THE RIGHT REASONS, RIGHT?

THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY TESLA IS TESLA, RIGHT?

IT'S AN ENGINEERING DRIVEN CULTURE COMPANY.

SO THE INNOVATION TAKES PLACE FASTER, AND AT THE NIO IS ON TOP OF IT.

WE ALSO VALUE FOR THE PEOPLE ASPECT.

- YEAH.

- YOU KNOW, NIO IS ALSO AN ENGINEERING DRIVEN COMPANY, BUT WE ALSO HAVE CARE ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO DRIVE THIS INNOVATION AND THE ENGINEERING FORWARD.

SO I'M LUCKY TO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE BOTH AT TESLA AND THEN HERE NOW AT NIO.

SO I CAN RELATE A LOT OF SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES.

- YEAH.

- SO I'M ENJOYING EVERY MOMENT THAT I'M HAPPY THAT I'M AT NIO.

AND THEN EVERY NIO WHERE WE HAVE A STRONG BONDING, YOU KNOW, WHICH I FEEL THAT I HAD IT, BUT I HAVE EVEN MORE HERE AT NIO, RIGHT?

IT'S AN AMAZING CULTURE.

I LOVE IT.

- THAT'S GREAT.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU TOOK FROM THAT CULTURE COMING OVER FROM TESLA THAT YOU'RE LIKE, "HEY, I WANNA DO THIS ALL AT NIO."

OR MAYBE THERE'S THINGS YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, "WE DON'T WANNA DO THIS THIS WAY AT NIO."

- YEAH.

ONE KEY LESSON THAT I ALWAYS CHERISH FROM TESLA IS FIRST-FAIL APPROACH, YOU KNOW?

THERE'S NOTHING CALLED PERFECTION.

- YEAH.

- ALWAYS GO WITH THAT 80/20 RULE, RIGHT?

80% VALUE COMING FROM THE 20% OF THE TASKS, GO PRIORITIZE THE 20% TASK, AND THEN GO GET THE JOB DONE.

QUALITY IS A PRODUCTION, THEN YOU WILL TRADE.

CONSTANTLY YOU DO THAT INNOVATION.

- RIGHT.

- IF YOU WAIT FOR THAT 100% OF THE PRODUCT FEATURES AND ALL THAT, THEN YOU WILL NEVER SHIP YOUR PRODUCT, RIGHT?

THAT 80% OF THE VALUE IS GOOD ENOUGH, RIGHT?

THAT'S ONE KEY THINGS THAT I...

SO DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE TIGHT TIMELINES.

THAT'S ONE LESSONS THAT I LEARNED FROM TESLA.

I TELL MY ENGINEERS, YOU KNOW, IF I ASK YOU TO GO RUN AT THE WALL AT THE 100 MILES PER HOUR, BEFORE I COMPLETE THE SENTENCE, YOU START READY, SET, GO.

- YEAH.

- RIGHT?

ONCE YOU GET CLOSER TO THE WALL, BECAUSE YOU HAVE RAN MUCH FASTER THAN I ASKED YOU TO DO IT, IF YOU NEED EXTRA TIME, GUESS WHAT?

THE WALL WILL MOVE FOR YOU.

BUT IN CONTRARY, IF YOU'RE AFRAID THAT IF I RUN AS FAST THAN I MIGHT HIT MY FOREHEAD AGAINST THE WALL, GUESS WHAT?

YOU WILL NOT START.

SO, WHICH IS NOT WHAT IT IS NEEDED FOR INNOVATIVE COMPANIES.

SO, PROJECT PLANS AND TIMELINES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF MORE SO THAN YOU THINK YOU DO.

- YEAH.

- RIGHT?

BECAUSE AS HUMANS, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT OURSELVES.

SO I TELL MY TEAM ALWAYS, WHEN IN DOUBT, PUT YOUR HAND ON YOUR CHEST, AND SAY, "YOU KNOW WHAT?

"I'M THE BEST ENGINEER THIS PLANET HAS EVER SEEN."

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF MORE SO THAN YOU THINK YOU DO, THEN YOU GO PLACES.

THAT'S THE REASON WHY WE ARE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE DID SO FAR, RIGHT?

MANY COMPANIES ARE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT, WHEN DO THEY LAUNCH THEIR FIRST PRODUCTION CAR?

AND WE HAVE 150,000 CARS THAT WE DELIVERED IN ABOUT THREE YEARS.

- RIGHT.

- TYPICAL OEM CYCLE FROM A CONCEPTUAL DRAWING TO PRODUCTION CAR, IT'S ABOUT FOUR TO FIVE YEARS.

- WELL, GANESH, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE ON TECHRIDES.

I'VE REALLY ENJOYED GETTING TO KNOW YOU, AND MEETING WITH YOU, AND DRIVING IN THIS GREAT CAR, AND IT'S JUST BEEN A PLEASURE.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

- THANK YOU, EDWIN.

♪♪