In the high-end auto market, well-known brands are now run by professional managers, which provides room for Nio to grow, said William Li Bin, founder and CEO of the company.

The remarks were made at the Lenovo Ventures annual conference and it's the first time that he talked about Nio's positioning as a high-end brand.

Li said brands such as BYD, Great Wall Motor, and Geely already have an absolute competitive advantage in the entry-level car market in the RMB 100,000-200,000 price range, and their scale, cost, and vertical supply chain integration can make it very difficult for a startup to launch a challenge.

But in the high-end automotive sector, represented by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, etc., Nio has a competitive advantage, he said.

That's because these 100-year-old car brands are no longer at the helm of the founders and are in professional manager mode.

For a brand, the power of the founder cannot be ignored, because they can be like a "needle in the haystack" to keep the company's original intention, Li said.