The camouflage-wrapped car has a few words on its rear window that mean it's better than Tesla's Model Y.
(A spy shot of what is allegedly the first model of Nio's sub-brand, Alps, shared by automotive media outlet Xchuxing.)
New spy shots of what is suspected to be the first model from Nio's (NYSE: NIO) second brand, codenamed Alps, have been revealed, showing the model closer to production status.
He Lei, CEO of local automotive media outlet Xchuxing, shared two images from a follower today in his site's forum, claiming that this is Alps' first model.
The images were supposedly taken when Alps' first model was being tested in Heihe, Heilongjiang province in northern China, He said.
Previous spy shots of Alps' first model have been blurry, and this is the first time high-definition spy shots of the model have been revealed, He noted.
The camouflage-wrapped car has a few words on the rear window that mean it's better than Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y.
(A spy shot of what is allegedly the first model of Nio's sub-brand, Alps, shared by Xchuxing's CEO, He Lei.)
"These two images have a special slogan in the rear window that shows it's attitude of being a full-on benchmark (with the Tesla Model Y)," He wrote in his post.
It could be bigger than the Model Y and should be a mid-size or mid-to-large-size SUV, He said.
Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li said in a user communication on March 2 in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, that those who want to buy Model Y recently can wait for a while, and Alps' first model will definitely be cheaper than it.
Alps' first model will support battery swap, and faster charging and will have a bigger screen, Li said.
The latest spy shots show Alps' first model looking like a coupe SUV. He gives his take on this:
Many may say, how come Nio's Alps sub-brand has created another coupe SUV, a model that obviously won't sell in high volumes.
Now let's discuss this first: why is this car made to look like a coupe SUV?
Let's look back to 2019, when Tesla unveiled the Model Y in Los Angeles, and the look on everyone's face when they saw the car. Ugly, was the opinion of most people at the time, until they saw the actual car, until now it is selling 40,000 or 50,000 units a month.
We need to think about why Tesla's only budget SUV, was made to look like this, and when they don't have a regular SUV? When they did the design, they didn't know it would sell well.
Actually, it has a lot to do with the core electrical system, energy consumption, especially at high speeds, and the balance with space.
If you have a lot of models, you can launch a car for each type. But if you have a very simple array of models, that's probably all you have to choose from.
He also said that the car's rear window decal is lively, which would have something to do with Alps' brand tone, being a bit younger and livelier compared to the main Nio brand.
Alps' first model, codenamed DOM, is expected to go on sale in October this year, according to a report by local media outlet 36kr on February 5.
Alps' entire model range will be developed on Nio's third-generation technology platform NT 3.0, and the DOM model will feature a new-generation electric motor developed and produced in-house by Nio to optimize size and cost, the report said.
Li said at the March 2 event that pilot cars for Alps' first model rolled off the assembly line last October and is currently undergoing further optimization.
Nio will observe the dynamics of the intense price competition before making further decisions, Li said.
Li's previous remarks implied that Alps' first model will be benchmarked against the Model Y, offering lower prices and better features. The model is expected to target the RMB 200,000 (27,800) to RMB 300,000 range.
The Model Y is currently offered in three versions in China, with starting prices of RMB 258,900, RMB 299,900, and RMB 363,900 respectively. Its entry version is a single-motor model, while the other two are dual-motor models.
The Tesla SUV is one of the best-selling models in China, even surpassing many traditional gasoline-powered SUVs.
For all of 2023, the Model Y sold 456,394 units in China, contributing 75.6 percent of Tesla's 603,664 sales in the country, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
In December, Model Y sales in China reached an all-time high of 60,055 units.
The other model Tesla produces at its Shanghai plant is the Model 3 sedan, which sold 147,270 units in China in 2023.
Nio's William Li asks potential Tesla Model Y buyers to wait for Alps' 1st model
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