FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio aims to grab market share from Volkswagen by introducing a model for the European market that will be sold for less than 30,000 euros ($33,060), the company’s chairman told a German magazine.
“Yes, in terms of price that means we are also attacking Volkswagen more strongly than before,” Der Spiegel quoted William Li, also Nio’s founder, as saying, without giving further details.
Sources told Reuters in February that Nio planned to build a factory to produce budget EVs under a new brand for export to Europe from as early as next year.
Speaking at the Shanghai Autoshow earlier this month, Li said Chinese electric vehicle makers should brace for possible protectionist moves by foreign governments as they seize on their cost advantages to expand exports.
He said he estimated his firm and peers making EVs in China had as much as a 20% cost advantage over rivals such as Tesla thanks to China’s grip over the supply chain and raw materials.
($1 = 0.9074 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Helen Popper)
