Tesla is gearing up to manufacture its cars in China, but one of its primary competitors there says it isn’t sweating the competition.
Louis Hsieh, CFO of Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio, told CNBC Tuesday that he firmly believes his company is up to the challenge posed by Elon Musk’s barrier-breaking car company.
China has always been seen as an attractive market: The sheer number of potential consumers has made it difficult for major companies to ignore the country. Tesla is no different, striking a deal last year to build a factory there.
“I think it’s the right step for them, it would reduce their manufacturing and delivery cost,” Hsieh said when asked if he felt Tesla would become a threat. “We think that it will be a very competitive market and they need to be here as it’s the largest car market in the world. And while it is a threat to us, we think we are more than up to the challenge.”
Nio has told investors that it is targeting sales between 20,000 to 30,000 units within 9 months of 2018. So far, the start-up looks to be on track: Hsieh said Nio has already sold out of its first batch of 10,000 orders for the ES8 all-electric sport utility vehicle , which was only launched on Dec. 16.
