NIO CEO, William Li confirmed that he is developing a phone that is claimed to be a competitor to Apple in the future.
NIO is an electric car manufacturer founded in China in 2014. Since then, it has quickly established itself as one of the leading electrification brands, starting with the ES8, ES6, and EC6 SUV lines.
The ES8, ES6, and EC6 SUV models have joined the NIO ET7’s first sedan, which started shipping its first in China this week, then a second sedan called the ET5 is already on its way.
Currently, NIO continues to expand its product sales to other markets outside China, such as Norway and Germany.
In fact, the company plans to use its experience in technology to create a phone that can be paired with NIO’s electric car.
According to a report from a Chinese news outlet, William Li spoke candidly on a local talk show about the automaker’s other potential ventures, as well as some of the obstacles ahead.
“First, we’ll start with the phone.” said William Li quoted by electrek.co, Friday (1/4/2022).
As CnEVPost points out, rumors of NIO potentially designing and building its own phone have been circulating a lot recently, with no confirmation or denial from the automaker.
During the talk show, Li publicly admitted that for the first time NIO was exploring his own cell phone, although NIO was still in the research phase at this time.
Li made the decision to study the phone industry as part of a push for NIO customers, who want to see smartphones better connected to cars.
The NIO development team will later be tasked with learning and mastering the ins and outs of mobile phones, car-centric smart devices and even wearables to ensure a smooth and effective connection with the vehicle.
On the other hand, companies like Foxconn and Baidu are already involved in EV manufacturing, while smartphone giant Xiaomi has launched its own automotive division and is building a factory capable of producing 300,000 EVs per year.
