NIO Starts Selling Coffee, Applies for Related Trademarks

China’s automobile and coffee industries have been getting closer and closer lately. In October of this year, domestic electric vehicle maker NIO applied for several trademarks related to coffee in a bid to search for new growth points.

NIO now provides customers with coffee and other drinks at its NIO centers all across China, and sells instant drip coffee bags on NIO Life, its sales channel for auto-related products.

William Li, the founder and chairman of NIO, once revealed that consumers who choose NIO cars are mainly “post-90s” and “post-80s,” and their average monthly income is about 50,000 yuan ($6,981). The main consumer group of coffee is also young people. According to analysis by Talking Data, post-90s are the bulk of coffee consumers in China, and they are widely distributed in first-tier cities and have a high consumption level.

Brands of vehicles and coffee are cooperating to launch creative gameplay, such as Qoroscafe built by Qoros, a coffee robot unveiled by Changan Automobile that can complete the whole production process of a cup of coffee by itself, a MINI car-themed coffee restaurant in Shanghai, and SAIC Motor’s “Ji Coffee” brand.

Chinese coffee brand Manner and Tesla jointly launched a promotion in September. When Tesla owners go to Manner’s stores to display the charging interface, they can enjoy a free cup of coffee. Kia Motors and Tim Hortons have also launched similar activities.

The combination of car and coffee is intended to provide better services for car owners. According to data by iiMedia Research, the scale of China’s coffee market in 2021 was about 381.7 billion yuan, and the number of consumers exceeded 300 million. The market is expected to rise at a growth rate of 27.2% to reach 1,000 billion yuan in 2025.

SEE ALSO: NIO’s Q3 Revenue Up 32.6% YoY, Five New Cars to Be Unveiled Next Year

In addition to vehicle manufacturers, more and more companies in various fields are targeting coffee business operations. ByteDance applied for the trademark “Dongche Coffee” this month. During the May Day Festival this year, sportswear brand Li-Ning’s first coffee shop was unveiled, providing free coffee for customers who spend a certain amount of money in the store. Coffee from oil and gas companies PetroChina and Sinopec have also attracted attention.