(Yicai Global) Jan. 6 -- Nio plans to deal with inefficient projects and teams, according to the founder of the Chinese electric vehicle maker.

William Li, who is also chairman and chief executive, sent a letter to all employees on the first day of the new year, setting out the nine-year-old carmaker’s failings and saying that inefficient projects and teams will be optimized, 36kr reported yesterday.

Vehicle deliveries rose 34 percent to 122,500 last year, much less than the average 100 percent for the Chinese EV market, Li told staff. In the face of supply fluctuations, many other carmakers responded more quickly and efficiently, but Nio did not, causing losses to the firm, he said.

Quality issues with new vehicles, test car accidents, and data breaches, indicating internal management problems, damaged Nio’s reputation, Li said, adding that the automaker’s problem-solving was slower than users expected.

The organization and its teams expanded too fast last year, he said, and the digital management system has become a bottleneck for business development. Internal communications must be improved, he added

On average, 200 to 300 new hires joined Nio every week last year, with the total number of employees exceeding 30,000, 36Kr reported.

Work-related tasks will increase this year, but Nio’s resource input will only grow a little, with the need to optimize inefficient projects and teams, Li pointed out in his letter.

Five new models based on Nio’s NT2.0 platform will be delivered in the first half, Li noted. This year, the carmaker will put the research and development of NT3.0 technology into full swing, speed up deliveries and services in Europe, while its innovative businesses will reach key turning points, he added.

Founded in 2014, Nio has delivered a total of 289,600 vehicles and built 1,315 battery-swap stations and 13,400 charging piles globally.

Editor: Martin Kadiev