Jack Cheng: From Ford to FCA to Chinese EV upstart Nio

SHANGHAI — The Chinese electric vehicle startup formerly known as NextEV gained some early credibility through its connection to Martin Leach, the former Ford of Europe president who managed NextEV's Formula E racing team.All about NioVehicles In production: ES8 SUVUp next: ES6 SUV, planned for 2019Supercar: EP9Autonomous concept: EveManufacturingPartner JAC Motors builds the ES8 and will build the ES6. At the Nio plant in Shanghai, scheduled to open in late 2019, the company will build a 3rd mass-market vehicle.Battery factsCustomers pay a monthly fee of about $200 to rent the ES8 battery pack from Nio, but they also get a discount on their vehicle purchase. Nio has stations in 4 cities that allow consumers to exchange battery packs in 3 minutes; many more are planned.InvestmentFunding: $3 billion to datePrimary investor: Tencent HoldingsPlans for an IPO have been reported but not confirmed.Fun feature: NOMI, billed as the world's first in-car artificial intelligence system, opens windows, plays music, dictates directions, provides the weather and more — on command.Sources: Automotive News research; Justin Kuo, investor relations associateBefore he died in 2016 at 59, Leach had helped sketch a vision for a Tesla fighter for China, a project that carries on under Nio, the new name for NextEV.A strong Ford connection continues with Nio's 60-year-old co-founder and executive vice president, Jack Cheng. He is also CEO of XPT, an advanced technology company that works on e-propulsion platforms for EVs.The Taiwan native spent much of his career in purchasing — primarily with Ford. More recently, he was with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in China.Today, his focus is on that Tesla fighter, Nio's ES8, a seven-seat SUV that starts at about $69,000, before credits. (A Founders Edition lists for $84,500.)This final week of June marks a big push for deliveries. Three hundred ES8s are scheduled to end up in customers' hands by the end of the month, up from just 10 until now.An early June visit found Cheng marveling at the forces that, since 2014, have taken the company from infancy to 6,500 employees in three continents and 15,000 orders for the ES8, secured with a $770 deposit.Most of those employees are housed in the technology park here that is home to Nio's headquarters.There, a work force that averages about half of his age comes to grips with the rock classics lead guitarist Cheng and his bandmates pound out during Friday afternoon practices in what Cheng calls his "music room.""When I play Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, these guys say, 'What the hell is that?' " Cheng said.Cheng spoke with Dave Versical, director of editorial operations for Automotive News Group, on the following topics. EVs replacing internal combustion engines:It's going to happen, and it will be sooner than you expect it, including autonomous drive.China's EV mandate, which starts to phase in next year:Our projection is most of the big guys will have to find a partner to try to resolve the issue — like Volkswagen with [our manufacturing partner] JAC — everybody has to find their Chinese JV partner to give them a foreign-badged local vehicle.Nio's business model:Our business model is to service the user, so it's a different ballgame. It's a user enterprise — basically, do away with the dealership and remain in direct contact with the customer.We're trying to be more than just a car company, because with a car company, you can be bonded into a conventional mindset. Nio's headquarters in the Shanghai International Automobile City industrial zone:

Jack Cheng: From Ford to FCA to Chinese EV upstart Nio

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