Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc said it is developing a mass-market brand to challenge local rivals and the big US and European car brands, as well as delivering three new car models next year.
With Nio having pitched itself as a more upmarket brand initially, with models costing upwards of RMB 300,000 (above US$46k or £33k), chief executive and co-founder William Li said the new brand will be positioned similar to Volkswagen and Toyota.
"We want to provide better product and service at prices lower than Tesla's," he said.
The Shanghai-based group is expanding its sales overseas with shipments starting to Norway last month and first customer deliveries expected in September.
The statement was made alongside Nio's second-quarter results, where it cut losses 45% to RMB 659.3mln on revenue up 127% to RMB 8.45bn.
The EV manufacturer delivered almost 22,000 vehicles in the quarter, more than double the volume a year earlier.
Nio's first sedan model, the ET7, will start to be delivered in 2022.
Shares in the company were up 1.4% to €37.50 in Frankfurt on Thursday.