Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

In ten years, as one of the first new forces in the domestic automobile industry, NIO has reached an important milestone.

On November 25, Li Bin, founder and chairman of NIO, released a letter from all employees called “Keep the original intention and focus on action”. He felt that NIO had caught up with the once-in-a-century transformation in the automotive industry and gradually realized its original vision by laying down energy supplementing infrastructure and developing a global user community.

After ten years of growth, NIO, which has stood on the edge of a cliff several times, now occupies more than 40% of the high-end pure electricity market of 0.3 million yuan or more, and has a place of its own.

According to Li Bin, the foundation for NIO has already been laid, but he once again sounded a wake-up call internally. “We are still far from excellent, and we must recognize that our users, partners, and investors expect more from us.” Li Bin said bluntly that NIO is in the fiercest and harshest stage of the smart electric vehicle industry qualifying competition. After two or three years, only a few excellent companies will survive.

“Although we have experienced many darkest moments in the past ten years, the next thing we have to face is a higher level of competition. There are no shortcomings, and it is impossible to win quickly.” Li Bin said that NIO needs to speed up and return to investors and users in the current volatile economic situation and an increasingly internal market.

In order to qualify for the finals, Li Bin put forward two new requirements for the team to “maintain the original intention and focus on action”.

In an internal letter, Li Bin emphasized the importance of maintaining our original intentions. “Every time we are able to get out of a difficult situation, it is because we have gone back to our original intentions and corrected practices that deviate from NIO's value system.”

He asked the team to continue to strengthen system capacity building and improve operational efficiency. “Leaving good ideas for execution is empty talk, let alone an excuse for not doing a good job in the short term.”

Li Bin set the flag to continue to launch competitive new products over the next two critical years, continue to improve operational efficiency, double sales next year, and achieve profit in 2026. “This is an unmissable task.”

The following is the original text of Li Bin's internal letter “Keep the original intention and focus on action”:

Dear Colleagues,

Today, we are celebrating NIO's 10th birthday. On this special occasion, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all of our partners, and thank you all for walking along the way to make our shared vision a reality step by step.

NIO was lucky to be founded in an era when the automobile industry experienced major changes once every 100 years. Starting from Blue Sky Coming's mission, we are steadfastly moving forward on the path to becoming a leading user company in technology and experience. In ten years, we have completed 12 full-stack technology layouts and applied for more than 9,300 patents; our products have been recognized by users, with a market share of more than 40% in the pure electric market with an average price of 0.3 million or more; we have built 2,750 power exchange stations and more than 24,200 charging piles in China and Europe, and our efforts to build charging and switching infrastructure have been recognized by users and peers; we have implemented the concept of a user enterprise and coalesced with more than 0.62 million users to create a unique, cross-cultural and common A growing global user community.

Thanks to everyone for their hard work, these achievements have laid a solid foundation for our development. At the same time, we need to recognize that our users, partners, and investors expect more from us, and that we are still far from excellent. Facing an increasingly challenging global economic environment, increasingly fierce market competition, and stronger and better peers, we need to redouble our efforts and improve ourselves as soon as possible in order to repay the support and trust of users, partners, and investors.

Dear colleagues, we are in the fiercest and harshest stage of the smart electric vehicle industry qualifying competition. After two or three years, only a few excellent companies will survive. Although we have experienced many darkest moments in the past ten years, the next thing we have to face is a higher level of competition. There are no shortcomings, and it is impossible to win quickly. To qualify for the finals, we need to do the following two things together:

Keep the original intention. In a market environment full of uncertainty and increasing focus on short-term interests, we still firmly believe that the concept of starting from the interests of users and creating value for users through technological innovation to achieve commercial success is in line with common sense and commercial rationality. Shared values will make the organization less resistant, more efficient, and naturally more competitive in the market. We have experienced many ups and downs over the past ten years. We have learned a few profound lessons. At NIO, as long as we deviate from the original intention to do things, the initial results may be good, but they are not sustainable, and we will soon be punished by the market. And every time we are able to get out of trouble, it is because we have returned to our original intentions and corrected practices that deviated from NIO's value system. This year, we have updated our value system 3.0. We invite everyone to return to the principles we all agree on to think and act, say what they believe in, and do what they believe in when they encounter difficulties in their work.

Focus on action. Vision, Action, Vision, and Action together form the connotation of the NIO logo. If a good idea leaves execution power, it is empty talk; long-term doctrine should not be an excuse for not doing a good job in the short term. After ten years of development, our business framework around smart electric vehicle technology products, services, and communities has been initially formed, but bottom-up system capacity building needs to be strengthened urgently, and operating efficiency needs to be significantly improved. System capacity building starts from the essential logic of the core business and focuses on basic business units, such as every R&D project, every vehicle, every component, every store, every charging and switching station, each battery, every frontline colleague, every marketing activity, etc. The operating efficiency of these basic business units has improved, and the operating efficiency of the entire company will definitely improve. Focusing on basic business units, it is necessary to set clear business goals, cost goals and return on investment goals, formulate specific implementation plans, and promptly review and continuously improve business results. System capacity building is the core task of improving the company's execution. It is necessary to forge ahead, fight stupid battles, and work hard for a long time.

Dear colleagues, the next two years are critical. Continuing to launch new competitive products, continuously improving operational efficiency, doubling sales next year, and achieving company profits in 2026 are tasks that cannot be missed. Let's do our best!

Our journey was a marathon on dirt roads, and it wasn't an easy path from day one. Don't miss the past, don't be afraid of the future. Ten years is just the beginning. There is still a long way to go. In the next 10 years, we will continue to walk together and recharge electricity together to create a sustainable and better future together!

Li Bin