Nio's founder and chief executive, William Li, was a key driver of the phone project, which the automaker is targeting mainly at drivers of its cars. As the smartphone trend fuels great demand for connectivity, from drivers, more automakers are seeking ways to stay ahead of the growing competition. But Nio's phone project has raised concern among some investors as the company battles widening losses and a sales slump amid a price war started by Tesla in January. Nio posted a net loss of 6.12 billion yuan ($839.51 million) in the second quarter, versus a loss of 2.75 billion yuan in the corresponding period a year ago. Li said Nio would launch the first model of its new EV brand targeting the mass market in the second half of 2024.

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Persons: William Li, Li, Tesla, Nio, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: HK, Zhejing, Huawei Technologies, Seres, CYVN Holdings, EV, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI