NIO's sales volume surpassed Li Auto's in August. This man saved Li Bin.
On the afternoon of September 1st, NIO announced its August sales figures: 31,305 new vehicles were delivered, a year-on-year increase of 55.2%, setting a new historical high.
Almost simultaneously, Li Auto also announced its August sales: 28,529 vehicles.
This is the first time since November 2022 that NIO's sales have surpassed those of Li Auto.
At today's market close, NIO's stock price soared 4.64%, regaining a market value of over 100 billion. Since July 7th, NIO's Hong Kong shares have cumulatively risen nearly 90%.
The sub - brand LeDao is the core contributor. In August, 16,434 new vehicles were delivered, accounting for more than half of the total.
When LeDao L60 was launched last year, there was a well - known scene between NIO founder Li Bin and former LeDao President Ai Tiecheng. "The orders have exploded," but the subsequent delivery did not meet expectations, becoming a widely circulated meme.
Now, it is estimated that the meme of "exploded orders" can no longer be played, because with another man in charge of LeDao, the orders have really exploded.
And he is Shen Fei.
01
From Delivery Controversy to Queuing for Orders
Last year, LeDao's first model, the L60, encountered many pitfalls.
In the early stage of its launch, the production capacity ramp - up was too slow. A large number of L60 orders could not be delivered by the end of 2024. Many customers were worried that there would be no national subsidies in 2025, so they turned to competitors such as Tesla Model Y and XPeng G6, resulting in a serious loss of orders.
There were also issues such as setting the bar too high in the early stage, controversy over employee car purchases, and a small number of battery swap stations...
After the new president, Shen Fei, took over, the situation changed significantly.
The L90 press conference was the first independently - led press conference after his appointment. The whole operation was so mature that it didn't seem like it was from NIO.
On the evening of July 29th, right after the press conference of Li Auto's i8 ended, LeDao's sales team leaked the news that the top - end price of the L90 would not exceed 320,000 yuan, which was even cheaper than the entry - level i8, grabbing a wave of attention.
Then, Shen Fei also took advantage of the popularity by leaving a message under Li Auto's WeChat Moments advertisement featuring Yue Yunpeng: "Welcome to test drive LeDao L90 together. They are all good cars."
Before the L90 press conference even started, the hype had already been built up.
The entire press conference focused straightforwardly on the core pain point of "no pressure for six people and ten suitcases".
The 240L ultra - large front trunk can hold two 20 - inch suitcases and one children's suitcase. Even without folding down the third - row seats, the trunk has a volume of 430L, which can hold seven 20 - inch suitcases.
Actors Sha Yi and his wife also demonstrated real - life scenarios such as loading a baby stroller into the front trunk and packing suitcases in the trunk at the scene, showing everyone "no luggage anxiety for family trips".
Although there are six models of the LeDao L90, the SKUs are not confusing, and the price differences are small.
It is mainly divided by the number of seats (six - seat or seven - seat) and configuration levels (Pro, Max, Ultra). The whole system is uniformly equipped with an 85kWh battery to avoid interference from range parameters when making a choice. The price ranges from 265,800 to 299,800 yuan, with a maximum difference of only 34,000 yuan between the top - end and entry - level models.
For example, if you want cost - effectiveness, choose the entry - level model; if you want air suspension and a ceiling - mounted entertainment screen, choose the mid - to high - end models; if you want four - wheel drive and zero - gravity seats, choose the high - end model. If you have a large family, choose the seven - seat version.
The L60 has four versions formed by the cross - combination of drive forms (rear - wheel drive/four - wheel drive) and battery capacities (60kWh/85kWh), and the price ranges from 206,900 to 255,900 yuan, with a maximum difference of 49,000 yuan, making it difficult for people to decide which model to choose.
This time, Shen Fei learned from the lessons of the L60 and prepared a large number of ready - to - deliver vehicles in advance. Delivery started on August 1st. This is why the L90 was able to deliver over 10,000 vehicles in its first month on the market.
On the night when the L90 was launched, NIO's offline stores were as crowded as a vegetable market, with people queuing up to place orders, but it also attracted a lot of negative comments.
Shen Fei directly responded with a poem by Su Shi and left a message saying "I don't want to be a car blogger, don't want to be a CEO, and definitely don't want to quarrel with others. I just have the simple wish of eating meat, having lychees, and reading books."
02
Looks Dumb but Works Pragmatically
Shen Fei is a core manager from the early days of NIO and one of the most senior executives in the company.
As a native of Jiangsu, he always speaks calmly.
At the press conference of LeDao L90 in April this year, netizens noticed the sitting postures of the executives. Shen Fei's happy look and his slightly pigeon - toed sitting posture were ridiculed by everyone as "dumb".
He often interacts with NIO President Li Bin in live - streams, and netizens have made many emoji packs of him.
Before joining NIO, Shen Fei worked at Tsinghua University and served as the deputy director of the School's Flexible Transmission and Distribution System Research Institute. Later, he started a business in power equipment, accumulating a lot of experience in energy technology transformation and enterprise operation.
In 2015, Qin Lihong, the co - founder of NIO, invited him to join, and Shen Fei became a core manager in the early days of the company.
At that time, NIO was at a critical stage of determining its development direction. His major in power systems filled the company's gap in energy infrastructure.
After joining NIO, Shen Fei built the charging and battery - swapping system from scratch.
He proposed the "separation of vehicle and battery" model, separating the battery from the vehicle's assets. Users can rent batteries flexibly, completely solving problems such as battery degradation and vehicle depreciation.
The energy team led by Shen Fei is regarded by colleagues as the most capable "iron army" with strong execution ability.
When leading the construction of the world's largest battery - swapping network, Shen Fei adhered to the principle of "implement first, then optimize". He conducted a large number of on - site investigations and repeated tests and adjustments to ensure that the layout of battery - swapping stations precisely met users' needs.
As of 2025, he has led the construction of 3,239 battery - swapping stations and 2,757 super - charging stations, enabling NIO to have the world's largest battery - swapping network. "Electric - zone housing" has also become the most valued benefit for users.
In April this year, Shen Fei replaced Ai Tiecheng as the president of LeDao Auto, taking full responsibility for sales and regional management.
He later recalled that the appointment was very sudden.
"After a meeting, Lihong suddenly pulled me aside and said, 'Do you know something?' I asked what it was, and he said, 'Don't worry. Li Bin will tell you later.' " He didn't know he was going to take over LeDao until the day before the appointment.
Shen Fei has always been pragmatic and efficient in his work.
Just two days after taking office, a Tomb - Sweeping Festival poster of LeDao caused controversy. It read "Swap your battery and go anytime during Tomb - Sweeping Festival". After being criticized by netizens, Shen Fei quickly noticed and fired the relevant personnel.
03
NIO May Welcome an "Ideal" Moment
In the first quarter of this year, NIO's financial report showed a net loss of 6.75 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 30.2%. The asset - liability ratio rose to 92.55%. At the current rate of cash burn, NIO's 26 billion yuan in cash reserves is only enough for 12 months.
Some analysts pointed out that if NIO cannot achieve positive cash flow before the fourth quarter, it may face the risk of a broken capital chain.
On August 31st, Li Bin said in an internal speech at the company, "Now many users recognize our cars, services, and technology. At least 30% - 40% of the reason why they don't buy our cars is that they are worried about whether NIO will go bankrupt."
But after Shen Fei took full responsibility for LeDao, in August, LeDao's delivery volume accounted for 52.4% of NIO's total, driving NIO's overall sales to increase by 55.2% year - on - year.
Next, LeDao may launch the large five - seat SUV L70, directly targeting the long - range version of the Tesla Model Y and the XPeng G6. Another six/seven - seat flagship SUV, the L80, is also in the planning stage.
This is somewhat similar to the path Li Auto took before.
In 2024, Li Auto's high - end models were severely impacted by competitors such as the Wenjie M7 and Denza N8, and sales declined significantly. After the launch of the L6, 192,000 vehicles were delivered in the first year, and Li Auto became the annual sales champion among new - energy vehicle startups.
If NIO continues this momentum, its sales revenue in the fourth quarter of this year is expected to continue to rise, and there is even a possibility of making a profit, welcoming an "ideal" moment.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Technology Daily Push" (ID: apptoday), author: Huang Wanyi, editor: Zhou Weipeng. Republished by 36Kr with permission.