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Chinese electric vehicle brand, NIO (蔚来汽车 wèilái qìchē), plans to build smartphones, according to leaks on social media.
If the rumours are true, NIO will be entering a cutthroat market dominated by companies like Apple, Huawei, and Xiaomi.
Some observers in China (36Kr in Chinese) aren’t convinced NIO's move into mobile phones is going to work.
Here’s a typical opinion from the media:
仅凭自身的品牌溢价，想在竞争激烈的手机市场上走出一条高端化之路并不容易 - It’s not easy to break into the higher-end of the competitive mobile phone market based only on its current brand value.
Other commentators reckon China’s new EV players are going to have a tough time (Sohu - in Chinese) competing with each other, and the next generation of new EV brands, as well as with much bigger incumbents in these new sectors:
在行业竞争加剧和二线造车新势力与传统车企联合绞杀等的影响下，他们会再次迎来一段“苦日子” - With increased competition with new-comers and the traditional incumbents, they will have hard times ahead.
What’s happening in China’s EV market is like that of any ‘wind vent’, or ‘next big sector’ (a fēng kǒu 风口 in Chinese): fierce competition, hot capital, aggressive diversification and eventually some spectacular crashes.
So, this week we dig into the language to discuss this move by NIO as well as a number of other EV companies in China.
The Favourite Five
I carefully selected my favourite five words and phrases this week. The first two are neologisms specific to this industry. The other three are old idioms and proverbs used in a modern setting.
造机 zàojī - making mobile phones
蔚来已经初步搭建了手机业务部门，准备跨界“造机” - NIO has already established a preliminary mobile phone department, in preparation to go into manufacturing mobile phones.
Note: expect to see this new word a lot as more companies follow. Look out for another new one too, 造机潮 zàojīcháo - ‘the wave of making mobiles’.
造车新势力 zào chē xīn shìlì - new force in automotive manufacturing, major new players in EV
对于尚未完全实现盈亏平衡的造车新势力来说无异于百上加斤 - For these new automotive companies that have not yet fully reached break-even, this may be going too far.
Related: 造车潮 zàochē cháo - wave of car manufacturing
刺刀见红 cìdāo jiàn hóng - a bloody battle
为了稳住自己的位置、抢到一张通往美好未来的船票，一场刺刀见红的肉搏战，正在酝酿 - In order to consolidate its own position and gain access to a bright future, NIO is ready for a bloody battle with its competitors.
More: 肉搏战 ròu bó zhàn - hand to hand combat, a fist fight
风马牛不相及 fēng mǎ niú bù xiāng jí - ‘wind - horse - cow - not - linked’, totally unrelated
押宝和自身业务风马牛不相及的手机、元宇宙，是风险极高的 - Betting on mobile phones and the Metaverse, which is totally unrelated to its own business, is a high risk move.
病急乱投医 bìng jí luàn tóuyī - turn to any doctor to help when critically ill, try anything when in a desperate situation
“蔚小理”急于发展副业是必然，但“病急乱投医”并不可取 - It’s no surprise that NIO is keen to develop other business lines, but it must avoid doing so because it's in a desperate situation.
See more in SupChina’s phrase of the week
Consuming the Conversation
The basics
Have you had enough of not knowing your NIOs from your CATLs, or your Li Bin’s from your Li Xiang’s? These are the companies and their founders you should know to discuss China’s fast-growing EV sector.
The three main new EV brands, or 造车新势力 zào chē xīn shìlì, in Chinese are:
蔚来汽车 wèi lái qìchē - NIO, founded by Lǐ Bīn 李斌
小鹏汽车 xiǎopéng qìchē - X-Peng Automotive, founded by Hé Xiǎopéng 何小鹏
理想汽车 lǐxiǎng qìchē - Li Auto, founded by Lǐ Xiǎng 李想
Two big players investing in the tech:
小米集团 xiǎomǐ jítuán - Xiaomi Group, founded by Léi Jūn 雷军
宁德时代 níngdé shídài - Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, or CATL, founded by Céng Yùqún 曾毓群
And two new EV disruptors upsetting the upsetters:
哪吒 né zhā qìchē - NETA Auto, founded by Zhāng Yǒng 张勇
领跑科技 líng pǎo kējì - Leap Motor, founded by Zhū Jiāngmíng 珠江明
Useful words
These words are in discussions about NIO’s move into mobile phones, but they also come up regularly in conversations with investor-y types or entrepreneurs in China.
萌芽 méngyá - bud, early stage
和尚在萌芽阶段的蔚来手机项目相比，小鹏的飞行汽车项目有更多值得关注的动态 - Compared to NIO’s mobile phone business, which is still very much in its infancy, X-Peng’s flying car project has much more to it.
大鳄 dà è - big crocodile, the big incumbent
股东名单里包括360集团和宁德时代等大鳄 - The shareholder list includes the likes of 360 Group and CATL.
Note: huge tech companies like Alibaba can also be referred to as whales - 鲸鱼 jīng yú
贴牌 tiē pái - ‘stick label’, white labelling
蔚来要进军竞争激烈的手机行业，且基本上排除贴牌的可能性 - NIO intends to enter the highly competitive mobile phone sector, and it has ruled out the possibility of white labelling products from another manufacturer.
套……皮 tào pí - putting on a skin
当前的手机产业，它就是套一层互联网的皮，其实本质上来说，就是一种小家电产业 - The mobile phone industry has the veneer of an internet industry but in actual fact it is really just like the small electronic goods sector.
趟过 tāng guò - wade through, get over
这是闯入手机行业的车企需要趟过的另一道护城河 - This is one barrier to entry that all automotive companies need to overcome if they are to enter the mobile phone market.
Related: 护城河 hùchénghé - moat, barrier to entry (see 3 April 2022 newsletter)
赋能 fù néng - leverage or give power to
同时在汽车智能化、软件能力建设、科技化转型等方面相互赋能，实现协同 - At the same time, they leverage off each other’s automotive AI, software capability, and technological transformation to achieve synergies.
下沉 xià chén - going into second- and third-tier markets
以高性价比闻名的小鹏高调进驻北京三里屯，走中高端路线的蔚来、理想则加速下沉 - X-Peng, known for its affordability, entered Sanlitun with some fanfare, while the mid-market and high-end players, NIO and Li Auto, have accelerated their advance into the lower-tier markets.
Related: 性价比 xìng jià bǐ - affordable, see 20 November 2021 newsletter
捣鼓 dǎo gu - experiment with
无论是蔚来选择的手机，还是小鹏捣鼓的飞行汽车，都不见得一定有光明未来 - Regardless of whether it’s NIO going into mobile phones, or X-Peng experimenting with flying cars, it will not necessarily hold a bright future for either.
