Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X
Alan Tiecheng, a relatively unknown figure in the automotive industry, is about to draw significant attention. With just six days remaining before the official unveiling of Nio‘s new sub-brand Onvo, we delve into the career of the former Vice President of Marketing at Disney and General Manager for WeWork in China.
Tiecheng joined Nio in July 2021 as Vice President for a “New Strategic Business”. As reported by EV on May 10, 2022, Tiecheng’s role was clear from the first day —preparing for the launch of what was then known only as “Alps”, the codenamed sub-brand.
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Graduating from Tianjin University, Tiecheng began his career with Procter & Gamble before moving to InterContinental Hotels Group, where he honed his skills in brand management and marketing.
In a 2018 interview with China Daily, Tiecheng emphasized the importance of his hospitality industry experience, particularly in understanding the needs of high-end consumers.
Tiecheng, mentioned as a friend from the Nio co-founder Lihong Qin, was one of the first customers of Nio after buying the Founding Edition of the first production model, the ES8, in 2018. Nio
His previous roles as Vice President of Marketing at Shanghai Disney Resort and General Manager at WeWork Greater China — plus the 3 years of experience at Nio— are seen as key pieces to build and lead Nio’s first sub-brand Onvo.
Reports from local media 36kr in mid 2021 revealed that Nio initially considered naming its sub-brand “TV,” representing Toyota and Volkswagen. However, concerns over potential conflicts led to the project being renamed “ALPS.”
Earlier today, while celebrating the 500,000th car rolling off the production line in Hefei, China, Nio CEO shared on the Nio App that the first sub-brand Onvo will be unveiled on May 15.
“At the same time, in order to better achieve our mission of promoting sustainable development for the future of humanity, we will also serve a wider range of users through a brand new service. On International Family Day, May 15, we will officially launch the second brand, Onvo (LeDao in Chinese),” Nio CEO wrote.
In terms of the target, William Li reiterated that Onvo brand will target families adding that the cheaper average selling price of the models will “undoubtedly accelerate the arrival of the next milestone of one million vehicles”.
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At the Beijing Auto Show, Nio CEO was questioned at the Beijing Auto Show about the impact of the SU7 in the sales of the L60, Onvo‘s first model.
“Onvo‘s positioning is clear, it’s aimed at the family market. While Xiaomi’s SU7 is expected to perform well, our Onvo L60 will have better sales,” Nio CEO stated as reported by local media.
According to the chief executive, the first product will be launched in the third quarter with mass deliveries beginning in the last quarter of the year. William Li has previously stated that the model is targeting Tesla Model Y while having a bill of materials (BOM) ten percent lower.
According to a transcript of a media Q&A shared by the automotive blogger “钢炮同学啊“, Nio partners Changan and Geely will use the same battery pack as Onvo.
“Changan and Geely will share Onvo‘s battery pack, which Lotus doesn’t use. In the future, there will be an exclusive network for Nio users. Onvo‘s battery swapping stations are also being deployed,” Nio founder said.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X
