Is the "base model Ferrari" being snapped up by the middle class?

Xiao K in the office recently announced that she was going to change her vehicle.

Xiao K said that she was fond of a new force in the new energy vehicle - making industry. Not only does it have a cool in - car screen and frequent OTA updates, but its assisted driving system is also very intelligent.

While we were wondering whether it was NIO, XPENG, Li Auto or Tesla, we heard Xiao K say:

“Moreover, the large in - car screen is waterproof, so there's no need to worry on rainy days!”

After a moment of shock, we realized that the new energy vehicle Xiao K was going to change to not only had no roof, but was also not steered by a steering wheel —

She had taken a fancy to the two - wheeled electric vehicles recently launched by Ninebot.

Two - wheeled electric vehicles with four - wheeled vehicle technology?

If your impression of electric vehicles still stays at the combination of a motor and two wheels, it's obviously a bit outdated.

Today's electric vehicles can be called “budget Ferraris”.

Ninebot, a leader in this field, is even called “the Tesla of the electric vehicle industry” among the public.

Not only does it have a startup method similar to Tesla's, unlocking with an NFC black card.

It also has a luxurious central control large screen like domestic electric vehicles.

Some new models recently launched by Ninebot are even migrating the technological functions of current four - wheeled electric vehicles one by one to two - wheeled electric vehicles.

For example, intelligent driving.

In some test - drive videos, you can plan a destination and set a route for a Ninebot electric vehicle through a bound mobile phone, and then the vehicle can automatically drive to the destination without manual operation.

It can not only park itself:

but also go downstairs:

run and jump:

For cars, the difficulty of intelligent driving lies in recognizing road conditions;

while for two - wheeled electric vehicles, the biggest difficulty in intelligent driving lies in maintaining balance.

The introduction says that Ninebot has installed two electronically controlled gyroscopes in the vehicle, thus achieving the self - balancing of the two - wheeled vehicle like a tumbler.

That's not all.

Some Ninebot models are also equipped with the same “regenerative braking system” as four - wheeled electric vehicles, which is said to greatly improve the battery life.

However, regarding this futuristic design, Lao G, a senior electric vehicle user in the office who even did crowdsourcing deliveries during lunch breaks, commented:

“What's the use of this?”

Not to mention whether the so - called “intelligent driving” here can be compared with the assisted driving of four - wheeled vehicles and whether it can adapt to the extremely complex road conditions of electric vehicles. Just thinking about its specific usage scenarios, Lao G scratched his head in confusion:

“Am I supposed to set it to ‘self - drive’ after work and let it deliver takeaways for me to make money?”

Moreover, in Lao G's view, many of Ninebot's technological functions are quite useless when an electric vehicle is simply regarded as a means of rapid transportation.

The one - key reverse function is said to improve parking efficiency, but in Lao G's words:

“There's a handle under the back seat of an electric vehicle. You can lift it up, and the rear wheel will rise. You can park it however you want. That's the real flexible parking.”

Another example is the waterproof smart large - screen central control, which can not only display the dashboard but also show navigation maps, play music, and answer calls. In Lao G's view:

“A car - mounted anti - shake mobile phone holder can perfectly replace it.”

In addition, unlocking with a black card and Bluetooth is less reassuring than turning a key; the seat cushion sensing function often fails to recognize the rider, causing the vehicle to start “one step slower” at intersections; the annual cost of more than 60 yuan for the intelligent service system always seems a bit not worth it...

However, although the traditional riders represented by Lao G think that Ninebot's series of functions are flashy.

In the eyes of young thrill - seekers, Ninebot has an excellent reputation —

Commercially, Ninebot has had particularly good sales in the past two years;

Culturally, it has become the “budget super - car” in the hearts of post - 2000s and post - 2010s generations.

The “peak” of youth: owning a Ninebot

Friends who often read social news should know that compared with other competitors, the logo of Ninebot electric vehicles is easily stolen.

Although Ninebot electric vehicles have top - notch positioning and anti - theft systems in the industry, the system only protects the vehicle, not the logo, and can't stop the young guys who love to pry off the logos.

For these young guys, stealing the logo is less about making money and more about obtaining a certain kind of social currency, an identity recognition that proves “I'm cool”.

After all, if you browse social media, you'll realize that for many teenagers, some of whom are not even allowed to ride on the road, owning a Ninebot electric vehicle of their own brings a sense of achievement no less than “driving a Lamborghini before the age of 30”.

In those sentimental captions on short - video platforms, Ninebot has been given various pretentious prefixes related to youth by teenagers:

“A broken dream”, “The one that stole my crush”, “Ride 100 kilometers to see her”, “Buy it for the immature me back then”...

Even if they can't own one, some kids name their bicycles Ninebot to show their longing for the thrill of riding.

From the parents' perspective, Ninebot has become an expensive and fashionable item that their children yearn for every day.

“Dad/Mom, I want to buy a Ninebot!” This sentence has become like a spell, the main source of conflict between the two generations in many videos and written descriptions:

Stubborn children throw tantrums and pester their parents to get a Ninebot to ride.

Frustrated parents regard it as the result of their children's competitive mentality —

Although many kids are not old enough to ride, and a two - wheeled electric vehicle costing thousands of yuan is not a small expense for many families, since their classmates have one, they must have one too.

Of course, some of the lines in short videos seem a bit dramatic and staged. But compared with other electric vehicle brands, Ninebot does have a greater influence on post - 2000s and post - 2010s generations.

And this influence is indeed supported by sales.

According to relevant data, in the first half of 2025, the sales volume of Ninebot's two - wheeled electric vehicles increased by 99.5%, almost three times the industry average.

It only took Ninebot more than 60 days to increase its shipments from 7 million to 8 million.

Endowing two - wheeled electric vehicles with the technological sense of four - wheeled vehicles has become the “money - making formula” for this young enterprise.

Why has Ninebot become the “top - stream”?

Before entering the two - wheeled electric vehicle market, Ninebot's main businesses were self - balancing scooters and robots and was once an important part of Xiaomi's ecosystem.

When it went public on the Growth Enterprise Market in 2020, the two founders even gave the bell - ringing opportunity to their “Sugar Cube” robot to highlight the company's technological genes.

Therefore, when Ninebot entered the two - wheeled electric vehicle market, on the one hand, it had the technological accumulation from the self - balancing scooter industry chain, and on the other hand, it had a consistent R & D tradition. All it lacked was an opportunity to enter the market.

In April 2019, the implementation of the new national standard for two - wheeled electric vehicles created a demand for the replacement of nearly 200 million “non - standard vehicles” across the country. Seeing this potential blue ocean, Ninebot strongly entered the two - wheeled electric vehicle market at the end of that year.

According to a research report by Soochow Securities at that time, Ninebot's initial profit - making idea can be summarized as follows:

Empower two - wheeled electric vehicles with the company's intelligent technology, create differentiation in this niche market with a penetration rate of only 1.5%, and then increase the overall profit margin of its products through annual OTA upgrade fees.

As a “new player” with intelligence as one of its selling points,