- Li said there will be no large-scale layoffs in the smart driving team, but some projects will be canceled, according to local media.
- Nio's smart driving team currently has more than 1,000 people, mainly in Beijing and Shanghai.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) founder, chairman, and CEO William Li tried to boost the morale of the smart driving team in an internal meeting, as competition in the space ramps up significantly after the Chinese New Year holiday.
Li traveled to Beijing on February 13 for an internal meeting with the smart driving team led by Ren Shaoqing, which lasted less than three hours, according to a story in local media outlet Auto Business Review today.
Li started the day with a tour of the latest parking-assist features, and then the meeting started at 2 pm. He was the only speaker throughout, with Ren present, according to the report.
Nio is headquartered in Shanghai, and the smart driving team is now more than 1,000 people, mainly in Beijing and Shanghai, the report noted.
Ren spent most of his time in Beijing, where there are more people on the smart driving team, the report said, citing an insider.
“The main tone of that meeting was to boost the team's morale,” an industry source with knowledge of the meeting said. “Li said there would be no large-scale layoffs, but some projects would be canceled.”
Li sent out 1,000 Hongbaos -- digital envelopes with small cash rewards -- to a work group during that meeting, totaling an estimated more than RMB 10,000 ($1,380), according to Auto Business Review.
In addition, Li emphasized that the Nio brand will not launch single-motor models, arguing that reducing one motor is not the key to cutting cost, and that the brand will still aim for the premium all-electric vehicle market, the source said.
Nio's smart driving team in Beijing is based at the Raycom Infotech Park in Zhongguancun, also home to a large number of tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, AMD, and Nvidia, the report noted.
The Beijing office of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company that has recently become a trending topic, is also located here, and Huawei has recently begun to office here as well, according to the report.
As 2025 kicks off, the focus of competition across China's auto industry has abruptly shifted to smart driving, and that war was escalated by BYD's (HKG: 1211, OTCMKTS: BYDDY) vehicle intelligence strategy launch on February 10, Auto Business Review noted.
“It's not clear if that's the reason Li traveled to Beijing in person to give his team Hongbaos, rather than doing it via an online meeting,” the story reads.
BYD unveiled its vehicle intelligence strategy on February 10 and updated 21 models in sweeping move, bringing them free, high-level ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) features.
What's predictable is that the year ahead will see tough competition for smart driving, the Auto Business Review report said.
Nio CEO highlights importance of sales volume, cost reduction in internal meeting
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