A Leadership Shuffle After a Slow Start
In a revealing move about the pressures within the Chinese EV space, Alan Ai has stepped down as President of Onvo, Nio’s mass-market brand. The resignation, announced on the Onvo App, comes as a direct consequence of the Onvo L60’s failure to meet sales expectations. Ai himself admitted that while the L60 is a competitive vehicle, the marketing efforts fell short, and as the leader, he took full responsibility for the underwhelming performance.
The decision didn’t come out of nowhere, but the timing was swift. Just weeks ago, Ai publicly pushed back against rumors of his departure. Yet, less than a month later, Nio has installed a new leader, Shen Fei, signaling a major strategy shift. The move highlights the immense pressure on Nio to hit its profitability target for the fourth quarter of this year, a goal that hinges on its sub-brands, especially Onvo, driving significant sales volume.
Nio Tightens the Reins on Onvo
Shen Fei’s appointment isn’t just a simple replacement. It marks a complete integration of Onvo into Nio’s core management. While Shen will handle sales and regional operations, he’ll report directly to Nio President Qin Lihong. More importantly, Nio’s founder and CEO, William Li, will personally oversee Onvo’s product and marketing alongside Qin Lihong. This shift ends the relative independence Onvo previously enjoyed and is part of Nio’s broader push to streamline operations and cut down on redundant costs across its brands, including Nio, Onvo, and the upcoming Firefly.
Nio is consolidating resources wherever it can. In February, the company merged the delivery channels for both Nio and Onvo vehicles to optimize its teams and physical footprint. It’s all hands on deck to make the entire organization more efficient.
A New Strategy: Selling Cars with Battery Swapping
The choice of Shen Fei is particularly interesting. He joined Nio in 2015 and was a key figure in building the company’s signature battery-swapping network from the ground up. However, he has no prior experience in car sales. This suggests Nio is planning to make its battery-swapping infrastructure a central selling point for Onvo.
Both William Li and the outgoing Alan Ai have noted that dealerships located near battery-swap stations tend to see better sales. With Nio aiming for full-county coverage with its swap network this year, and Onvo targeting mass-market buyers in smaller cities, the synergy makes sense. Appointing the man who built the network to sell the cars could be a brilliant move to connect the two pillars of Nio’s ecosystem.
The Hard Road Ahead
Despite the new leadership, Onvo faces a tough climb in a brutally competitive EV market. The brand already has 450 stores, but the sales just aren’t there. Deliveries of 5,912 units in January, 4,049 in February, and 4,820 in March fell well short of internal goals. According to Nio’s CEO, the Onvo sales were hit by public opinion, which has been a major factor.
Ai previously blamed the slow start on poor brand awareness, a problem that March’s numbers show hasn’t been solved. Onvo is still an unfamiliar name to many potential buyers.
This year is critical. Onvo plans to launch two new models, the large L90 SUV and the five-seat L80. However, the L60 is already facing off against heavyweights like the Tesla Model Y and the red-hot Xiaomi SU7. The upcoming L90 will have to contend with popular models from rivals like Aito and Li Auto.
William Li is aiming to double Nio’s overall deliveries to 440,000 units in 2025, and Onvo is expected to do most of the heavy lifting. With Li now taking a more hands-on role, and a clear goal of Q4 profitability, there’s no room for missteps. Onvo missed its launch window, and now Nio is staking its recovery on a new leader and a tighter, more integrated strategy. a high-stakes bet on pure electric power
