Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Throughout the National Day holiday, Li Bin, founder, chairman and CEO of Lulai, and Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of Lulai, spent together in Europe.

They arrived in Europe before National Day, and the two men drove an ET7 in Europe for more than 2500 kilometers, passing through 10 cities. It has been a year since Weilai entered Norway, and Weilai has received nearly 423000 people in NIO House, Norway. But apart from these 423000 people, few Europeans are aware of Wei Lai.

The purpose of Li Bin and Qin Lihong's trip is not only to understand the situation in the countries along the way, but also to act as promoters for Ulai in these countries.

Ten days later, their biggest feeling is that the new energy infrastructure of many European cities is not perfect. Every time I went to a hotel in a city, it was almost night, and my colleagues went to look for charging posts, but all they could find was slow charging. "when I finished breakfast and was ready to leave the next day, the battery was not fully charged." Qin Lihong said.

But Europeans keep enough curiosity and attention to new things. Every time they go to a service area, someone will come up to watch the car, and these onlookers also ask a lot of questions, such as the price, how to speed up, how to change electricity, and so on. Li Bin and Qin Lihong invited them to download Weilai's App, hoping they could watch the press conference in Berlin on October 7, local time.

This conference is not Wei's first show in Europe. In June 2015, Weilai founded a company in Germany, and in November 2016, Li Bin, who is obsessed with British car culture, launched the NIO brand in the UK. In September 2021, Weilai announced its entry into the Norwegian market.

But this show is different from the past, not because of Li Bin's more than 10 minutes of all-English speech, nor is it the debut of three models in Europe. What attracts the most attention is that Lai has entered four European countries, including Germany, the heart of the European automobile industry, by way of subscription and system-wide service. Behind this is Weilai's new thinking about going to sea.

Why do you sell cars and subscribe when you enter Europe twice? Weilai's first stop in Europe is Norway, and the first NIO House in Europe is also opened in Oslo, Norway. In Norway, Weilai adopts the model of vehicle sales.

However, this time, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands have all adopted the "subscription model" which is actually leased. In the above-mentioned markets, Weilai launched three models: ET7, ET5 and EL7 (domestic counterpart: ES7), which began delivery in mid-October this year, with a subscription period of one month to 60 months.

Weilai explained that the short-term subscription can be cancelled at any time two weeks in advance, and the vehicle can be changed at will, and the monthly rental fee will be reduced accordingly with the increase of the time spent using the vehicle.

Long-term subscribers can only choose one model to enjoy a lower fixed subscription price, and the subscription cycle is between 12 and 60 months. If the user does not terminate the subscription after the subscription expires, the subscription will be automatically renewed in accordance with the flexible subscription terms.

The rental fee varies according to the subscription scheme. Take the monthly rental fee of Weilai ET7 in Germany as an example, the long-term subscription price is 1199 euros (about 8308.71 yuan) and the short-term subscription price is 1549 euros (10739 yuan). In Sweden, the long-term subscription price for the model is 13979 Swedish kronor (8937.37 yuan).

Li Bin also explained to the "next Generation Automobile Research Institute" why Ulai has adopted different business models one after another in Europe. The most direct reason is that different countries have different tax systems. In short, Norway has no tariffs and value-added tax on electric cars. Car sales prices have an advantage, so consumers are more accustomed to buying cars rather than subscribing to one.

But in the four European countries that Weilai entered this time, there is a tradition of using cars by companies, and this market mainly supplies high-end models. Li Bin revealed that at least 60% of users of high-end models use the subscription model rather than buying cars.

What Li Bin said is true. Car subscriptions are a fast-growing market in Germany and Europe, where interest in car subscriptions has generally increased since 2019, according to European auto industry research. According to a research report on car subscriptions by Professor Ferdinand of the Automotive Research Institute in Duisburg, Germany, there will be 1 million car subscriptions in the German new car market by 2030.

In addition, as far as car subscription itself is concerned, Li Bin believes that there is still a lot of room for improvement. "if we serve users directly, we will certainly be more efficient than some third parties." Li Bin believes that Weilai revolves around the right of use and subscription to improve efficiency, create user value creation, and provide users with a better experience. In fact, it is also conveying Wei's culture and values to users in Europe.

The third point is that Li Bin hopes that the market team of each European country will be more focused in the process of building. In Norway, for example, if vehicle sales are used, there is no need for Norwegian teams to distract car subscriptions, while teams in the four countries concentrate on car subscriptions without distractions from car sales.

"next Generation car Research Institute" learned that the formation of the team in Europe is still in its infancy. So far, the number of the team has just exceeded 720, and the business system is also being gradually built.

"in fact, it is more difficult to increase the option to sell cars from subscriptions than to increase subscriptions from selling cars, because car subscriptions are a re-operational thing." Li Bin hopes to start from a difficult model in a mature market, which can promote the construction of the team system more quickly and cultivate the ability to serve the whole system.

Despite some controversy, it seems that Weilai and Li Bin are very determined to promote car subscription. This is not only because Li Bin has been driving in Europe for 10 days, nor is it just because of the current competition. "We have thought deeply about subscription for a long time." Li Bin said.

Can Li Bin's distance be realized? Before the arrival, Chinese car brands such as Aichi, Mingjue and Lecker have successively entered the German market. Take Lectra, for example, the Geely brand is very popular in overseas markets, but in Germany, Lectra finally abandoned the traditional retail model and adopted car subscription.

A paragraph by Li Bin also explains the reason: "the market competition is very cruel. Europe is the home of competitors we respect very much. Their grasp of the psychology and needs of users and their understanding of the market must be much deeper than ours. Compared with them, we definitely belong to primary school students, much worse. We need to learn and catch up with them."

But this does not mean that Chinese electric car brands, including Lulai, do not have the opportunity. After a 10-day self-driving trip, Qin Lihong said, "We can see that even in countries like Norway, where there are many measures to support the purchase of electric cars, the ownership of electric cars is not very high, coupled with some infrastructure that needs to be upgraded." the time has not yet come for us to judge the great development, what we still see are opportunities. Lulai is an integrated layout from cars to services, and we will have a better chance. "

At present, Xilai has chosen an easier way in the mature automobile market, using service and user experience to help local users understand Weilai and the innovation of China's intelligent electric vehicles. and thus promote the landing of the whole system, including service and community culture, and make a difference with other brands.

Li Bin believes that the ultimate form of automobile is service, and with the car subscription system as the starting point, what Weilai is exploring in Europe is a brand-new business model of "all-inclusive at one price." it is an attempt to land the whole system overseas.

Qin Lihong said that Xilai's current goal in Europe is to improve the utilization of vehicles under the subscription model. This phased goal is not difficult to understand. Xilai is still a new brand in Europe, while there are still some pain points in the European car subscription market, and solving these user pain points will help to improve user experience and use satisfaction. and then establish brand influence.

"if both vehicle utilization and user satisfaction can be achieved, because the size and trend of the market are here, sales are ultimately just a result." By implication, Qin Lihong believes that car sales will be smoother after building the brand.

The next Generation Automobile Research Institute also notes that Weilai has almost provided subscribers with services equivalent to car owners, which are the key words Li Bin and Qin Lihong have been emphasizing-"service", "community" and "values". For example, all Weilai subscribers can enjoy worry-free services such as full insurance, maintenance, winter tyres, scooters, BaaS (battery rental service) and door-to-door pick-up and delivery.

In addition, Weilai allows subscribers to use NIO House from all over the world and participate in user activities. NIO House is one of the hallmarks of user operation in Xilai, which allows subscribers to participate in user activities in NIO House, which means that subscribers are treated as car owners. On the other hand, it is also Wei to use the iconic community culture to cultivate their own users in Europe.

In addition, in order to enhance the car experience of subscribers, Ulai has accelerated the layout of intelligent and energy networks in Europe ahead of time. In April 2021, Weilai began to do driving-assisted driving-related tests in Europe, and now has a large test fleet and built an innovation center in Berlin, Germany, mainly for local research and development related to automobile intelligence.

In July 2022, Ulai announced an investment in its first overseas factory in Hungary, which was put into operation in September. The project, known as the Ulay Energy European Plant, is mainly used to produce exchange stations that provide battery replacement services for electric vehicles. It will become the European manufacturing center, service center and R & D center for Weilai power products. Its main business includes the manufacturing and after-sales service of power exchange stations, the training of power supply business in Europe and the research and development of power supply products.

On the night of the press conference in Berlin, Li Bin posted a circle of friends, saying, "Weilai will officially provide full service in five European countries." at a time when the world is increasingly fragmented and full of uncertainty, Weilai has chosen a difficult road, which must be full of bumps and mud, but from a distance, we can see hope and light. "

How far is he talking about? By 2025, Weilai will provide services in 25 countries and regions, including the United States, another big country in the auto industry.

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