Nio‘s Chief Executive Officer William Li said the Chinese electric vehicle maker will not rush into the robotics industry despite growing interest from rivals, advocating instead for a “late-comer strategy” that lets competitors take the lead.
“We shouldn’t rush to do everything at the forefront,” Li said at a media briefing on Tuesday.
“In some areas, we should adopt a late-comer strategy and let others take the lead first. It doesn’t mean that we can’t do it, won’t do it, or are unwilling to do it. It’s not like that,” Nio‘s chief added.
The comments echo remarks Li made in November and come as Chinese automakers increasingly bet on humanoid robots and autonomous driving technology.
XPeng announced at its AI Day late last year that it plans to launch robotaxis later this year while preparing to start mass producing its humanoid robot named IRON.
State-owned Changan Automobile and Chery Automobile Group have also been developing their own humanoid robots.
Cars as Robots
Li acknowledged that automotive companies will inevitably enter the robotics space given the overlapping technology requirements.
“I believe that any automotive company today, if it has some ambition, will definitely become an AI company. There is no doubt about it,” Li said.
“In my opinion, it’s inevitable for automotive companies to get involved in embodied robots because the ability stack is the same. Every car today is a robot,” he added.
The characterization mirrors comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk over the years.
At the company’s 2021 AI Day, when the Full Self-Driving software and Optimus humanoid robot were at much earlier stages of development, Musk stated that Tesla vehicles were “semi-sentient robots on wheels.”
“Tesla is arguably the world’s biggest robotics company,” the CEO said at the time, adding that “our cars are semi-sentient robots on wheels.”
Speaking on the Moonshots podcast earlier this week, Musk noted that China appears to be following his strategic recommendations. “It seems like China listens to everything I say, and does it basically, or they’re just doing it independently,” Musk stated.
Focus on Profitability
Li said Nio will enter the robotics field only after achieving sustained profitability, estimating the company would begin preparations one to two years before any market entry.
“Our world model can be applied to embodied robots, and our manufacturing and supply chain system can also be used for robots,” Li said.
“But it doesn’t mean that I will do it now. We’ll start when we start making money, about one or two years in advance. By then, the supply chain will be mature, and we can learn from the late-comer strategy,” he added.
“It’s quite tiring to be at the forefront,” Nio‘s chief noted.
The CEO emphasized that the EV maker remains a relatively small player in the automotive market and must maintain focus on its core business.
“We are still a small company in the main automotive track, and this is the key. We need to focus,” Nio‘s founder and CEO said.
“We have been accumulating talent and capabilities in this area, and we are definitely not inferior to others. But it doesn’t mean that we should enter this field so early. We need to first increase our market share of about 1% as much as possible,” he stated.
Potential Entry Points
Although Nio is not among the Chinese automakers actively developing humanoid robots, Li suggested in November that the company could participate in the industry through its existing technology.
“I’m more interested in whether any company wants to adopt our chips, or if one day humanoid robots design swappable-battery structures compatible with Nio‘s system,” Li said in a roundtable with local media last November.
Nio has developed proprietary chips, including the Shenji NX9031, for autonomous driving and has built the world’s largest battery swap network with roughly 3,700 stations.
Past Diversification
Nio has previously ventured beyond vehicles.
In late 2023, the company launched a smartphone designed to integrate with its electric vehicles, priced between 6,499 and 7,499 yuan ($930-$1,070).
A second generation launched in 2024, though both remained limited to the Chinese market and no new iteration has been announced since.
