- William Li has ruled out an immediate entry into the currently trending robotics industry, focusing instead on selling more cars.
- This cautious stance contrasts with Nio's previous expansions into new ventures including smartphones.
Nio Inc has ruled out an immediate entry into the currently trending robotics industry, focusing instead on selling more cars.
The more conservative approach marks a significant shift in the company's strategy as it now places a heavy emphasis on return on investment (ROI). A few years ago, the Shanghai-based company actively explored various new ventures including smartphones.
The technology stack and capability models of smart electric vehicle companies and robotics are identical, covering everything from supply chain and manufacturing to internal management, Nio's founder, chairman, and CEO William Li told media, including CnEVPost, during a small-scale briefing at the company's headquarters on Wednesday.
However, he believes Nio still has massive upside potential in its existing core business, preferring to let other pioneering companies test the waters of robotics innovation first.
Nio's sales were just over 300,000 units, accounting for only about 1.5% of the Chinese auto market, the Nio CEO noted.
"We need to be a bit more focused, even if it doesn't sound like we are riding the crest of the wave," Li said.
When the entire robotics industry can sell hundreds of thousands or millions of robots a year, it will be fine for Nio to enter then, Li added.
Despite resisting building its own robots for now, Nio is actively integrating them into its manufacturing processes, aiming to boost efficiency at its highly automated factories.
In March 2025, Li shared animated images on Weibo showing robotic arms working as quality inspectors at Nio's F2 plant. He praised the robots for their smooth performance across a series of actions.
Furthermore, Nio began testing UBTech Robotics' humanoid robots on its assembly lines as early as February 2024.
Nio's restraint comes at a time when rivals are aggressively advancing embodied AI, with Tesla's Optimus and Xpeng's Iron leading the trend.
Earlier this month, a local media outlet reported that Li Auto is secretly advancing a robotics project codenamed "Nexus" and plans to unveil its first two-wheeled robot for factory manufacturing later this year.
