Online violence can no longer harm Li Bin.

Li Bin has gained another wave of fans.

At the just - concluded NIO user communication meeting, Li Bin self - deprecatingly said that "one of the responsibilities of being a CEO is to entertain everyone" in response to the various forms of spoofing and online violence he has endured.

"As long as people don't speak ill of my users, it's okay to say whatever they want about me. It doesn't matter."

In other words, online violence against himself is acceptable, but it should not "affect" his family, the company, and users. He takes it calmly. Immediately afterwards, he also responded to the much - concerned question of "whether NIO can turn a profit in the fourth quarter".

He believes there is a chance.

There are mainly three reasons. First, the gross profit margin is better than that of previous models. Second, in terms of sales volume, in the just - passed October, NIO achieved a milestone of "40,000 NIOs", with a delivery of 40,397 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 92.6%. Moreover, the new ES8 with a higher gross profit is the core contributor to the growth.

Finally, regarding spending, Li Bin said that most of the capital - intensive matters have been completed in the third quarter. From the perspective of cost control and business rhythm, there is a certain chance for NIO to turn a profit in the fourth quarter.

But how big is this chance?

01 It's OK to Cyberbully Me

With NIO making a full - throttle push for fourth - quarter profitability, Li Bin has become increasingly calm.

Over the past year, there have been more and more memes about Li Bin, but his public image has started to develop in a positive direction.

For example, at the beginning of the year, the whole internet was teaching Li Bin "how to be a good CEO". After NIO launched the LeDao L90 and the new ES8 this year, Li Bin's online nickname changed from "Binzi" to "Bin God". However, due to a significant price cut, he was willing to accept criticism at the meeting. After NIO Day 2025 this year, he said that as long as everyone is happy, "calling me 'Bin Ghost' is okay".

This recent incident is no exception. Facing years of various forms of online violence, Li Bin said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. One of the responsibilities of a CEO is to entertain everyone."

However, Li Bin also specifically emphasized that the prerequisite is that the "online violence" should not affect his family, should not target NIO's users, and should not smear the company. In other words, personal matters can be treated in a light - hearted way, but corporate responsibilities must be taken seriously.

Li Bin believes that smearing the company will have a huge impact on it, and smearing users is also unacceptable. He won't tolerate obvious slander. NIO is well - known as a user - oriented enterprise. If it can't even safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its users, then there's no point in talking about co - creation and co - growth with users.

Of course, Li Bin also mentioned that NIO's legal department is often busy these days. But everything should be handled calmly without being influenced by emotions.

From "Binzi" to "Brother Bin", then to "Bin God" and "Bin Ghost", Li Bin is definitely a frequent guest on the hot - search list among new - energy vehicle company bosses.

The most classic one is his statement in 2021, "I can't understand why there are still people buying gasoline cars. How nostalgic can they be?" As soon as he said this, he was immediately scolded by netizens and made it onto the hot - search list. Even after multiple apologies later, the situation didn't completely subside.

However, later during a live - stream, when netizens brought up the old meme and his "dark history" of "liking the smell of gasoline cars", Li Bin didn't avoid it. Instead, he faced it very calmly. He explained the context of his statement at that time and solemnly apologized again for his inappropriate words.

In addition, Li Bin is indeed one of the few auto industry tycoons who can joke around with netizens.

For example, once a netizen asked him in the live - stream if he bought his Peking University degree. Li Bin didn't get angry. Instead, he replied with a smile, "It's a legitimate degree. It would be a big problem if I bought it. I'm not a professor. Why would I buy a degree?"

In August this year, when Li Bin was on a business trip in Lhasa and was seen taking oxygen vigorously, the spoof photos of "Li Bin getting oxygen instead of charging" went viral on the internet. Li Bin said it didn't matter as long as everyone was happy.

At a recent user meeting in Nanjing, Li Bin self - deprecatingly said, "It's quite annoying to be constantly asked when NIO will go bankrupt. If your friend buys a car from another brand while you buy a NIO, and NIO doesn't do well, you'll lose face in the long run."

So, at this user communication meeting, Li Bin didn't just focus on entertaining himself. He once again emphasized the issue of fourth - quarter profitability, believing that "there is a certain chance for NIO to turn a profit in the fourth quarter".

Li Bin said that NIO has performed well in terms of sales volume and gross profit margin this year. Compared with previous models, new models have shown stronger market competitiveness, laying a solid foundation for the company's profitability. Regarding the possibility of fourth - quarter profitability, Li Bin believes that since there are no plans to launch new cars in the fourth quarter and no large - scale events like NIO Day, most of the capital - intensive matters have been completed in the third quarter. "From the perspective of cost control and business rhythm, there is a certain chance for NIO to turn a profit in the fourth quarter."

Although he thinks so, he still joked, "But we can't set the expectations too high. If you want to see me every year, please help sell more cars."

02 How Big Is the Chance of Profitability?

Li Bin has mentioned on multiple public occasions that NIO aims to turn a profit in the fourth quarter. He said so seven months ago, but hardly anyone believed it at that time.

At that time, NIO had just released its annual financial report, with a net annual loss of 20.4 billion yuan. The new LeDao L60 also faced sales setbacks, the NT2 platform models were lackluster, and the Firefly made a disappointing debut.

Going from a loss of 20 billion yuan last year to achieving positive profitability in the fourth quarter of the following year seems almost an impossible task. So, the outside world's doubts are quite reasonable.

However, NIO, which was ridiculed last year in the "NIO 10,000" meme, has become the "NIO 40,000" this year. The reversal is as dramatic as a roller - coaster ride.

In September, NIO delivered 34,749 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 64%, firmly establishing itself in the "NIO 30,000" club. In October this year, the delivery reached 40,397 vehicles, a year - on - year increase of 92.6%. This is also the first time since NIO's establishment that it has exceeded the 40,000 mark.

With the increasing delivery volume, the possibility of NIO achieving profitability has gradually become clearer.

The most direct result of the rapid growth in sales volume is the economies of scale. As production increases, the R & D, manufacturing costs, and fixed expenses allocated to each vehicle will decrease. This is crucial for NIO, which has been in the red. Undoubtedly, it lays a foundation for NIO's fourth - quarter profitability goal.

In a recent internal meeting, Li Bin listed fourth - quarter profitability as the first item of VAU (NIO's internal assessment indicator) and emphasized that "fourth - quarter profitability is not just for show but the cornerstone for the company's long - term sustainable development", once again demonstrating his determination and confidence in achieving fourth - quarter profitability.

Previously, at a small - scale closed - door meeting, Li Bin presented a detailed "profitability account" for the fourth - quarter profitability.

The goal is to achieve a delivery volume of 150,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter, with the gross profit margin restored to around 16% - 17%. At the same time, the sales, general and administrative expenses and R & D expenses should be controlled within a reasonable range. That is to say, in the fourth quarter of this year, the total production capacity of NIO's three brands should reach an average of 56,000 vehicles per month to achieve the quarterly sales target of 150,000 vehicles.

Under great pressure, Li Bin proposed a "three - step plan" for the profitability sprint. The first thing is to ensure delivery. He believes that the most important task for the ES8 currently is to deliver new vehicles. He also said bluntly, "For each additional vehicle delivered, the probability of achieving profitability this year will increase a little."

Another aspect is the supply chain. The market demand for the new ES8 has exceeded NIO's internal expectations. The production capacity in December should reach more than 15,000 vehicles. On the premise of ensuring delivery, the supply chain must not fail.

Although the target of 150,000 deliveries is double the actual delivery volume in the second quarter, with a large growth span, according to the current sales trend, it is highly likely that the target will be achieved.

Another aspect is the gross profit margin. Li Bin's goal is to achieve a group - wide gross profit margin of 16% - 17%, among which the long - term target for the NIO brand is 20% - 25%, LeDao should be above 15%, and Firefly should be around 10%. However, in the second quarter, NIO's overall gross profit margin was only 10.3%, still 6 - 7 percentage points short of the target.

Li Bin once said that as the proportion of high - gross - profit - margin products like the L90 and ES8 in the overall product portfolio increases, it is an achievable goal for NIO to bring the gross profit margin back to 16% - 17% in the fourth quarter.

Finally, regarding cost control, Li Bin just said that there will be no new car launches and no R & D expenses in the fourth quarter of NIO. All the capital - intensive matters have been completed in the third quarter. This means that the fourth quarter will most likely be the quarter with the least spending.

With NIO speeding up car sales and spending less, the dawn of "profitability" is really approaching.

This article is from the WeChat official account "SuperEV - Lab" (ID: SuperEV - Lab), written by Wang Lei and edited by Qin Zhangyong. It is published by 36Kr with permission.