Saying farewell to Lei Jun, Ninebot electric scooters have achieved great success.

Some time ago, Xiaomi launched a variety of products such as the SUV YU7, the foldable - screen flagship MIX Flip2, and AI smart glasses, which attracted wide attention.

Among them, the YU7 received 200,000 orders within 3 minutes of its release, triggering a media frenzy. The next day, driven by this enthusiasm, Xiaomi's stock price rose by 8%, hitting a record high.

In a less - spotlighted "corner", Ninebot, a company mainly producing two - wheeled electric vehicles, has also returned to a high - growth trajectory.

The first - quarter report shows that from January to March 2025, Ninebot achieved a revenue of 5.1 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 99.52%, and a net profit of 456 million yuan. In 2024, the company achieved a revenue of 14.196 billion yuan and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.084 billion yuan, both hitting record highs.

The question is, what's the relationship between Xiaomi and Ninebot?

In short, as the founder of Xiaomi, Lei Jun invested heavily in Ninebot. As Ninebot developed, Lei Jun gradually stepped back. After "crossing the river" with Lei Jun's help, Ninebot actively sought change and carved out its own niche in the process of product adjustment and industry competition.

Furthermore, whether in the past or now, Ninebot has never had an easy ride.

Lei Jun Built the Bridge, and Ninebot Crossed the River

At the beginning of June, a netizen posted on Weibo: "The Ninebot electric motorcycle I bought only six days ago has a fault code. The customer service kept changing the topic and didn't handle the problem seriously." Then, he @ - mentioned Lei Jun, Xiaomi Smart Ecosystem, Xiaomi Beijing and other accounts before @ - mentioning Ninebot Electric and Ninebot.

Putting aside the issue the netizen complained about, just the fact that he @ - mentioned Lei Jun and other Xiaomi - related accounts might be a mistake. The reason is simple: Ninebot and Xiaomi currently have little connection.

On the other hand, this also reflects how deeply ingrained the once - strong "bond" between Ninebot and the Xiaomi ecosystem was, to the extent that it has long occupied users' minds.

Let's start from the beginning.

In 2012, Ninebot was established. In the early days, it mainly produced emerging products such as self - balancing scooters. That year, Huang Xiaoming was injured while filming a movie, with a comminuted fracture in his foot. His team bought him a Ninebot self - balancing scooter to help him move around. Thanks to the influence of this incident, more people got to know about Ninebot self - balancing scooters.

In 2014, Ninebot received more than $80 million in Series A investment from institutions such as Xiaomi, Sequoia Capital, and Shunwei Capital, and naturally became a member of the Xiaomi ecosystem.

Re - examining this "bond", "New Consumption 101" believes that Lei Jun's role is mainly manifested in the following two aspects:

Firstly, he helped Ninebot "swallow the elephant".

When Segway, the global pioneer of self - balancing scooters, sued Ninebot for patent infringement, Gao Lufeng, the founder of Ninebot, found that there were internal differences within Segway and saw the possibility of acquiring it.

Ultimately, Ninebot paved the way for the acquisition through a combination of "equity financing + bank loans". Among them, the more than $80 million in financing from Xiaomi and others played an important role.

After completing the full acquisition of Segway, Ninebot became the global leader in the self - balancing scooter field, which was a crucial milestone in its development.

Secondly, he helped Ninebot sell products and build its brand.

In the early days of Ninebot's development, Xiaomi empowered it with its channel advantages. For example, in 2015, Ninebot launched a self - balancing scooter priced at 1,999 yuan on the Xiaomi platform, and the sales volume reached 100,000 units in two months, setting a new industry record for self - balancing scooter sales. Overall, from 2017 to 2019, the revenue contributed by the Xiaomi channel to Ninebot accounted for more than 50%.

Meanwhile, Lei Jun repeatedly applauded and cheered for Ninebot. For instance, he once posted an article highly praising that "Ninebot is the most passionate company in the Xiaomi ecosystem" and "is full of innovative spirit".

It was Lei Jun's real - money investment, along with the support of channels and influence, that helped Ninebot build a bridge for growth. For a company in its early - stage development, the importance is self - evident.

However, after rapid growth, especially after its listing in 2020, whether due to the demands of some investors or the company's internal initiative to seek change, Ninebot had to start the process of "de - Xiaomi - ization".

As a result, by 2023, the proportion of distribution revenue from Xiaomi - customized products was only 4.3%. In terms of shareholding, the first - quarter report this year shows that Xiaomi has been continuously reducing its stake, and its shareholding ratio has dropped below 5%, dropping out of the list of major shareholders. Shunwei Capital, also founded by Lei Jun, has exited the ranks of major shareholders.

Media such as 21st Century Business Herald believe that Ninebot has basically completed the process of "de - Xiaomi - ization". In the view of an industry insider in the smart home appliance industry, companies in the Xiaomi ecosystem hope to reduce the impact of a single major channel on their operations and seek a healthier revenue structure. Therefore, seeking independence after achieving scale is "a common business practice".

After that, opportunities and challenges came one after another.

Intelligence Is a Double - Edged Sword

Acquiring Segway not only made Ninebot the leader in the self - balancing scooter field but, more importantly, also gave it access to Segway's technical patents.

According to media reports, "This acquisition enabled Ninebot to obtain more than 400 core patents of Segway at once." With this foundation and its own R & D, Ninebot was able to expand its product categories, from single - type self - balancing scooters to include electric scooters, electric self - balancing scooters, smart electric two - wheeled vehicles, lawn - mowing robots, etc.

Among them, the smart electric two - wheeled vehicle business aligns with the trend of the intelligent development of electric vehicles. Ninebot seized this rare market opportunity and gained a certain first - mover advantage.

Specifically, in 2019, Ninebot publicly launched the C - series and E - series of smart electric two - wheeled vehicles, emphasizing "true intelligence" from the start, including features such as stop - and - go and induction unlocking, demonstrating product differentiation.

From an industry perspective, at that time, traditional brands such as Yadea, Emma, Tailing, and Luyuan focused more on aspects such as battery life and configuration. Ninebot's efforts brought a "fresh breeze" to the industry.

Subsequently, Ninebot reaped the benefits of intelligence. In 2020, the sales volume of Ninebot's smart electric two - wheeled vehicles exceeded 100,000 units, setting the best first - year sales record for Chinese electric vehicle companies. By 2024, this figure soared to nearly 2.6 million units.

Looking back, how did Ninebot manage to stage a "comeback" in the electric vehicle market where traditional brands had already built a "fortress"?

The answer, as mentioned above, is the combination of the industry's intelligent development trend, technological advantages, and product differentiation, which are the fundamental reasons for Ninebot's success.

This "success" not only affects the market but also shapes the perception of high - end consumers.

A 2023 report by iResearch shows that in the mid - to - high - end market above 5,000 yuan, Ninebot's electric vehicle sales rank first. In the high - end market above 7,000 yuan, Ninebot's market share exceeds 50%. This shows that Ninebot has established and strengthened the perception of high - end consumers. In Gao Lufeng's words, "We want to redefine electric vehicles with intelligence."

However, intelligence doesn't guarantee a smooth ride for Ninebot electric vehicles. This is because the pursuit of intelligence often leads to extremes - either over - intelligence or the "malfunction" of some traditional functions due to intelligence.

According to the compilation by the self - media "Topin New Consumption", combining information from platforms such as Xiaohongshu, Tieba, Douyin, Kuaishou, and the Black Cat Complaint platform, Ninebot has problems of varying degrees in product quality, battery life, and intelligent functions, especially in aspects such as tire blowouts, charging difficulties, Bluetooth connection issues, extremely poor shock - absorption effects, insufficient power, and easily soiled exterior materials.

On the Black Cat Complaint platform under Sina, "New Consumption 101" noticed that there are already more than 3,900 complaints about Ninebot electric vehicles.

On June 27, a consumer complained: "There have been continuous problems with the electric vehicle I bought just a few days ago. The first time it reported an ABS fault, and it got better after a power - off restart. After a few days, it reported an abnormal communication between the instrument and the controller. After a one - click repair request and a restart, it could work normally again. A few days later, the display screen went black..."

Through consumers' complaints, it's not hard to see that intelligence is just one part of two - wheeled electric vehicles. The overall ride comfort, convenience, and durability cannot be ignored.

In other words, intelligence is a double - edged sword. Once overdone and not well - adapted to users' needs, it may "harm both others and oneself". This also means that Ninebot must be more cautious in balancing intelligence and the overall consumer experience.

Still Need to Tap into Market Growth

Riding on the wave of intelligence, Ninebot has developed rapidly, and its "de - Xiaomi - ization" has achieved remarkable results that have caught the industry's attention. However, it still needs to continuously tap into market growth.

The reason is that the domestic electric vehicle sales are still in negative growth. A relevant report by iiMedia Research shows that in 2024, the annual sales volume of electric two - wheeled vehicles in China was 50 million units, a decrease of about 9% compared with 55 million units in 2023.

In this context, traditional brands such as Yadea, Emma, Tailing, and Luyuan are under greater pressure. Although Ninebot has returned to a high - growth trend, it must also step up its efforts to continue the competition.

For this reason, Ninebot has continuously increased its sales expenses. "Business Review" checked its financial reports and found that in the first quarter of 2023, the sales expenses were only 171 million yuan, increasing to 243 million yuan in the first quarter of last year, and reaching 418 million yuan in the first quarter of this year.

In addition to increasing sales efforts, there are also new moves in product development.

For example, in May this year, Ninebot launched the Q - series of women's models. In addition to intelligence, it features a lightweight design, targeting the needs of female users.

Ninebot is also promoting the RideyFUN intelligent driving system, which integrates functions such as music listening, navigation, and calling on one screen, hoping to bring a better experience to users.

Going global is a "standard move", and Ninebot shows its versatility in this regard.

On the positive side, Ninebot's overseas business accounts for the largest proportion among leading electric vehicle brands, with overseas revenue accounting for about 40% of the total revenue. In contrast, Yadea's overseas revenue accounts for less than 10%, and Niu Technologies' is only 13.48%.

On the negative side, Ninebot's products are characterized by high - end intelligence and high added value, which are suitable for the European and American markets. However, the European and American markets are affected and restricted by tariffs.

Moreover, considering the large user base of two - wheeled vehicles and domestic brands' eagerness to tap into market growth, Southeast Asia is a promising "treasure trove". However, compared with the above - mentioned traditional brands, Ninebot may not be as competitive.

The media bluntly stated: "If we look at the Southeast Asian market, Ninebot's high - end intelligent story seems hard to tell."

However, given the characteristics of the Southeast Asian market, the "hard - to - tell story" has to be told in a different way. In May this year, when being interviewed by the media, Gao Lufeng admitted that Southeast Asia is Ninebot's next area of focus. "Currently, the vast majority of consumers in Southeast Asia use fuel - powered motorcycles as their means of transportation. We believe that Southeast Asia can create a new market for electric two - wheeled vehicles."

As for the market strategy, Gao Lufeng proposed that Ninebot will establish a local team, "set up a regional department to integrate and coordinate global business through the regional department".

Obviously, Ninebot is taking multiple measures to tap into market growth, and the challenges it faces have also increased in multiple dimensions. Now, without Lei Jun's help and Xiaomi's support, Ninebot has to work even harder. It can be said that the second - half battle has already begun.

Reference News:

1. "Ninebot Electric Vehicles: Making Big Profits Quietly", Topin New Consumption

2. "Climbing Out of the Trough and Returning to High - Growth, Ninebot Achieved a Rare Reversal", Lishi Business Review

3. "Two Beihang University Schoolmates Built a 45 - Billion - Yuan Giant", CSDN Business

4. "Ninebot Is Becoming More and More Like Xiaomi", Bohu Finance

This article is from the WeChat official account "New Consumption 101", author: Xiang Ma, editor: Xiao Yu, published by 36Kr with authorization.