Nio vows to overtake Toyota's Lexus in 2023

Chinese electric car startup Nio said on Sunday that it will sell more vehicles in China than Toyota's premium brand Lexus in 2023.

Lexus is one of the most popular premium car brands in China, coming after the German giants BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

"I am confident that we can beat Lexus in 2023, although we will be definitely behind BMW, Mercedes and Audi," said Nio Chairman and CEO William Li.

Li made the remark on Sunday, one day after Nio revealed two new models and its 3rd-generation battery swap stations.

Nio sold 106,671 vehicles in the first 11 months this year, up 30 percent year-on-year. Lexus sold 168,644 units in the same period, down 16.45 percent year-on-year.

Nio did not give a specific sales goal for 2023, but Qin Lihong, Nio's president, estimates that Lexus' sales in China may reach around 200,000 units for the new year.

Qin said Nio's new models will start to boost its sales clearly from the fourth quarter of 2023.

China has been the world's largest market for electric cars and plug-in hybrids since 2015.

Their sales are expected to reach 6.7 million units this year, up from 3.5 million units in 2021, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.