Electric Car Manufacturer Nio Releases Smartphone Especially For Vehicles, Including Automatic Parking Functions

CEO of Nio Inc., William Li (photo: twitter @NIOGlobal)

JAKARTA - Nio Inc, an electric car manufacturer from China, on Thursday 21 September introduced a high-end smartphone designed for use in its electric vehicles, offering various related functions such as using mobile phones to order cars to park on their own.

The launch of the Nio Phone, which is a special phone for the first car sold by Chinese companies, highlights the high advancement of electric car technology in the world's largest automotive market. Moreover, electric cars now account for more than a third of the world's vehicle sales.

A Nio driver can also use the phone to tell the car to drive itself to the intended location. This is allowed in China in limited space and at low speed. In addition, it can also unlock the car even when the phone is turned off.

CEO William Li said that the Nio Phone has more than 30 special car functions and has broken boundaries with connection technology.

"I'm sure many of our competitors will learn from our smartphone innovations, and I welcome them to do so," Li said.

There are three models with prices between 6,499 and 7,499 yuan (Rp13.6 -15.8 million). The phone will only be sold in China for now and deliveries will begin on September 28.

Although some investors have concerns that Nio, who has seen losses, is widespread amid intense price competition in China, is taking too many projects, CEO William Li is still fighting for this smartphone project.

Nio's move in designing this phone is likely more about collecting user data than seeking major contributions to revenue, according to IDC analyst Will Wong.

"Smart cells will be a good platform to collect more data, which is very important in today's technology world and has the potential to improve user experience and customer loyalty," said Wong.

Nio's introduction is also an example of integration between smartphone and automotive worlds. Meizu, which is controlled by the company owned by founder Zhejiang Geely Holding, in March issued a smartphone that Geely's Lynk & Co brand car can connect with, but is also marketed more widely to consumers.

Xiaomi smartphone makers are also preparing to produce cars.

Nio, ranked 9th among electric and hybrid car manufacturers in China, has increased its investment in self-developed technology for key components such as chips and batteries. They have also built a fan base among their drivers in China by launching exclusive membership clubs and products such as Nio branded wines.

The company has a team of about 11,000 engineers working on key aspects of smart electric car technology ranging from chips to batteries, driving autonomy, and smart manufacturing, Li said at the event.

After sales slowed down in the first half of this year, Nio saw signs of recovery with August shipments soaring 81% compared to the previous year thanks to the revitalized popularity of the ES6 SUV.

They have sold about 94,350 vehicles in the first eight months of this year, an increase of 32% compared to the same period the previous year, surpassing the growth of 20% of electric car sales in China.