Nice name variations and innovations — Nio, Niu and Nia…
3 innovation and digital news in 1 minute. Every Monday. Episode 314.
News 1: Nio, the electric car and a completely new approach
Nio is exactly 8-years-old and a major player in the growing electric car market. Based in Shanghai, Nio has developed and maufactured cars for the Chinese market, with design center in Munich. It is distributed in Norway, knowingly a large e-car market. Now launching in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. And a new approach to car making and marketing. Opinion: Nio is showing a new approach on different levels. The car with above all software technology like “Aquila” sensor tech, new high res cameras and “Adam” the so called super computer at the centre. Battery is chargeable, swappable and upgradable. Nio also runs speed record races demonstrating the car’s power. New approach? Yes with a pure subscription model (starts at €999 per month).
They name a car a “mobile living place” — never heard that term before from traditional car makers.
News 2: Niu, two-wheels and electric
Electric two-wheel vehicles are e-motorcycles, e-mopeds, e-bicycles and kick-scooters. Niu Technologies is a leader in this category, based in China and listed on the NASDAQ. Niu sells to private persons, but above all to fleets for on-demand providers like Felyx. They go for a more premium range with e-bikes looking like motocycles (see pic). Opinion: Niu has just released its sales numbers for 3rd quarter 2022, declining by 20% (320.000 units in a quarter, Niu will sell over a million vehicles in a year). Reasons for the decline is the avalabilty of lithium batteries and the slow post-covid consumption in China.
Decline in sales, but more premium — a good recipe to hold on revenue.
News 3: Nia-ntic launches new SDK, ARDK!
Well, Nia? Nia is a dance movement and not in the editorial corridor we follow. So let’s update on NIAntic! Everyone knows the augmented reality (AR) record game Pokemon Go and the visual positioning system behing. Niantic is above all a platform with mapping in AR, a platform for any third-party to use — called 8th Wall. Based in San Francisco. Opinion: Over 2.000 apllications in mobile have been built on the platform: an AR map of the world to settle AR content with centimeter-level precision at locations worldwide. In the news for launching a web-based tool box to access the mapping and develop on it much easilier, called Lightship VPS.
A new SDK (they call it AR developer Kit) for a larger dev audience, will Niantic thrive again?
