In an interview with the Chinese news service Sina, Nio inc. (NYSE: NIO) CEO William Li confirmed that the electric-vehicle company had been motivated to explore making phones. Rumors about NIO potentially designing and manufacturing its own mobile phones have recently made the rounds. However, this is the first confirmation from the automaker that NIO is exploring the idea.

Li said that Nio had been motivated to explore the phone business by its customers, who supposedly want a phone that connects better to the company’s products. It’s not about a new revenue stream or commercial success. “Getting the phone produced is easy, but building a good phone is challenging,” Li said.

NIO intends to deliver a single holistic system for users’ daily lives by integrating technology and humanity, similar to Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), which NIO’s CEO sees as a future competitor.

By Michael Elkins