What do artificial intelligence, athleisure attire, and specialty drinks have to do with electric vehicles?

William Li: In 2012, the air pollution in China was becoming worse. Of course, it’s much better now. Yet back then, I was getting married and planning to have kids. I didn’t want them to grow up in a polluted environment.

Before NIO, I founded an automotive website which promoted sales of ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. Because of that, I somehow felt responsible for the air pollution. I believed I should do something to let more people drive on clean energy. That’s when I had the idea of starting up an EV company.

Back in the day, many smart technologies were coming into view, with fundamental changes in vehicle products and business models. An entrepreneur always sees opportunities in such changes.

These two things led to my decision to start an EV company. Then I spent another two years to prepare the company, which was officially incorporated in 2015.

WL: NIO was born a global startup, with investors and teams from around the world. As early as 2015 when NIO was first founded, we set up the R&D and design teams in Munich, the advanced engineering team in Oxford, and the smart technology team in San Jose. Of course, our major teams are in Shanghai, Hefei, and Beijing. We hope to draw together the best talent worldwide to achieve a shared vision. Being a global startup has been one of our founding principles since the beginning.

Secondly, NIO has always considered technology as its foundation. In the past few years, we have invested billions of U.S. dollars into R&D and technological innovation. Last year, our R&D investment amounted to nearly 2 billion U.S. dollars, roughly $500 million per quarter. All the established premium and luxury car brands are leading or were once leading in technology. As we are lucky enough to participate in the smart EV transition, we believe that our unwavering investment into technology can give NIO an edge on the competition.

Thirdly, a premium brand should provide above-average services. NIO has a handful of innovative technologies and practices in EV charging and battery swapping, as well as offline touchpoints. Our charging and swapping service is more convenient than gas refueling, which also differentiates NIO from other EV companies.

All premium brands, or all great brands, have one ultimate vision for sure, that is how a company can contribute to society. NIO hopes to encourage the use of smart EVs through its continuous technological innovation, and ultimately make the vision of “Blue Sky Coming” a reality. This is what has been propelling us and our users.

WL: NIO Life is an original lifestyle brand of NIO. It brings together global design resources and collaborations with designers and top design schools in the UK, Italy, Nordic countries, and Asia. NIO Life aims to provide users with thoughtful and tasteful products including bags, lamps, and even clothing made from surplus fabrics from the car manufacturing process under its Blue Sky Lab label.

NIO House is not a dealership store, but a lifestyle community starting with vehicles. At a NIO House, users can learn about NIO’s brand and products, relax with friends, and let their children play or attend our Little Engineer groups. Users can also host and attend an event, or even sample each NIO House’s unique special drink served in our cafés.

As much as technology and products matter to a premium brand, services are equally important. But besides all those, I also hope that NIO can provide a different emotional experience, which is actually the reason why many people have chosen NIO.

Emotional value is not a new thing in the automotive industry. Luxury brands like Ferrari also accentuate emotional experiences. NIO offers comparable experiences while leveraging mobile Internet or other more efficient approaches. For users, buying a NIO is more than having a means of transport. What they are introduced to is a joyful lifestyle, a group of like-minded people, or a range of meaningful events. I think it’s an aspiration shared by people worldwide.

WL: As I mentioned earlier, NIO has been a global startup from the very beginning. As early as 2015, we set up offices in Silicon Valley, Munich, and Oxford with employees from over 50 countries and regions. As a public company listed on three stock exchanges, NIO has investors from all over the world.

Despite being one of the largest auto markets in the world, the U.S. has a relatively low penetration of smart EVs (compared with China’s new car penetration at over 50%). The biggest issue here is a lack of competition. If the supply of products increases, consumers only stand to benefit. The same goes to the whole industry. We would like to enter the U.S. market at the right time and in the right way.

WL: The mass EV adoption worldwide is going to take awhile. With 80 million passenger vehicles sold globally every year, I believe about 70%—or more than two-thirds of the new cars—will be smart EVs in 10 years. And 20 years from now, that number will go up to 95%.

Smart technology will drive EV penetration. If the development of smart phones is anything to go by, 10 years would be more than enough to make EVs widely adopted. Smart EVs, from a technology, manufacturing, and cost structure perspective, have already reached a stage of accelerated growth.

The obstacle to broader EV adoption lies with infrastructure, especially charging and battery swapping infrastructure, which has been unevenly distributed. Not every market has such capital.

In addition, countries should adopt a more open trade policy, leaving enough room for the market to take its course. Norway is a case in point. It doesn’t impose any restrictions on foreign companies, and consumers can buy cars coming from all over the world. That’s why we chose it as our first stop in Europe. The penetration rate of new energy vehicles there has surpassed 80% and is closing in on 90%. I believe all countries should be more open-minded in this regard. An open market with open policies will bring in more products and services, which definitely benefits users and the industry as a whole.