Its no secret that one of my biggest interests is China tech bizs and disruptors. One of the best writers about this topic is @lillianmli which has a really insightful newsletter. Based on a thread I was invited to share my knowledge about @NIOGlobal . Here it goes!

1) NIO is one of the hotshots in the current EV market jumping in 2020 over 1,103% in its valuation. Now it sits as the 5th largest automaker by market capitalization. So what makes this Tencent backed company so special?

2)The brand's popularity in its market is the big driver of NIO and why so many people wrongfully position them as the "Tesla of China". NIO buyers are hardcore fans, to the point of forming groups and renting a plane from Shenzhen to Chengdu to watch the latest NIO Day event.

3)While EV companies in the west focus on expanding their network of charging systems in traditional gas stops or places of gathering. NIO is focusing itself on battery swap facilities.

4) These facilities are perfect for the Chinese urbanized and middle/high income population since they can just pop by one of the trendy boxes in the middle of Shanghai and change their battery for a charged one in a question of minutes.

5) NIO cars can still charge in the normal Chinese EV grid system and also offer bespoke services like NIO representatives coming to you and charging your car in the case you are in a random spot in a pinch.

6) NIO holds more than 1,200 battery swapping patents and has contributed to 17 national industry standards. They are setting a standard not just for the high-end market but to other companies in China.

7) Their latest unveils are a battery that can go over 1000km (620 miles) in a charge in their new ET7 model, and the Battery Swap 2.0 which is supposed to serve 3x more swaps per day.

8)NIO is aiming for a quality service and a higher-income clientele. Their latest model starts at 448k RMB (69k$) but drops down 58k$ when you drop the battery pack and user one of their many battery rental options. This directly competes with BMW 5 series which sell at 65k$.

9) There are other competitors besides Tesla in China like Xpeng, an EV company backed by Alibaba, and Li Auto.

10) One of the main drivers of their community building are the NIO houses, a combination of your local car club with an Apple store and Starbucks. It's a trendy looking place where NIO car owners can socialize, leave their kids to play around, watch conferences and even work.

11) The whole buying process is so seamless that you dont feel like you are buying a car, you feel like you are buying yourself a ticket to a better lifestyle, an exclusive lifestyle.

12) This lifestyle permeates into your groups of friends, business buddies and the way that a car company works for you. Changing the battery of your car? Book a battery swap, arrive there and a chauffeur will take your car and get that changed for you.

13) Even if you want to go explore the deserts of Qinghai or Inner Mongolia? Call the closest NIO van to come to you and charge your car if you can't find a suitable place to do it yourself. They will literally come and meet you in the middle of nowhere!

14) Then comes the NIO App . A mobile solution that has 800,000 users whilst the company has sold 51k cars. It's one of those Chinese apps where you can do everything .

15) Like pre-order your new "metal baby", get in touch with Customer Service, micro-blog your NIO style moments, catch up with the news or even get your questions replied by Li Bin the founder of the company (yeap he likes to pop there sometimes and it's always a big deal).

16) If NIO keeps on innovating and delivering they will certainly be a strong player in the EV market in the years to come. Recently they started hiring in Norway so an expansion to EU might come. Really curious to see if they will continue with their community offerings there.

There is a lot more that can be written about NIO but this my first time sharing my knowledge this way. Depending how this goes I can expand further in the future!