Chinese automaker Nio calls for 'open attitude' amid EU subsidy probe

SHANGHAI — The head of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio said he hoped all governments could have an open attitude rather than be isolationist, after the European Commission launched an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese-made EVs.

William Li made the comments at a media round table on Thursday after the launch of Nio's first smartphone.

He said lessons to be learned from China's new energy vehicle development were to be open and welcome competition to benefit users and global sustainable development.

"As a public company in the private sector, we are still losing money and the selling price in Europe is not low," Nio President Qin Lihong said at the same event.

"We hope that the market environment can be simpler, let the market be the market. As an entrepreneur, I hope that governments and the private sector can guide the NEV sector positively."

Nio, which ranks No 9 among manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles in China, is among Chinese EV makers that have been expanding into Europe amid stiffening competition in their home market, helped by the bloc's strict rules on emissions and Beijing's relatively benign trade ties.

The European Commission said China's share of EVs sold in Europe has risen to 8 percent and could reach 15 percent by 2025. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that prices were kept artificially low by "huge state subsidies". The Chinese Chamber of Commerce to the EU said the sector's advantage was not due to subsidies.

Li said the Chinese EV maker would likely be able to break even in a shorter time than U.S. automaker Tesla was able to, adding that Nio saw 20 percent gross margin as a level that could be sustained for the long term.

"We hope we can come back to a two-digit margin in the third quarter and make further improvements in the fourth quarter," he said.

Nio last month posted a net loss of 6.12 billion yuan ($839.51 million) in the second quarter, versus a loss of 2.75 billion yuan in the corresponding period a year ago. Its gross margin was 1 percent in the second quarter, versus 13% in the same quarter last year.