China’s ‘Tesla imitators’ have a new mission: build affordable humanoid robots for consumers

When Nio CEO William Li outlined earnings prospects for the Shanghai-based carmaker in March, he could not help but liken the automotive business to the development of robots.

“I think robotics will represent a natural extension of our carmaking capabilities and business acumen,” Li told reporters at a media briefing after Nio posted its first-ever quarterly profits for the three months ending December.

“Don’t you think that every car we produce in the future will actually be a robot? Its...