NIO is not ahead of other Chinese companies in battery technology or even motors at all. They are slightly ahead of the others in user interface and the AI assistant but even that is nothing special nowadays.
NIO is ahead maybe in battery changing stations in implementation around cities. The rest is investors hyping it but it is a nice company and understanding of the market and this product which other big players like BYD seem to not understand as well. NIO is also more popular with marketing and know how to market themselves much better especially with foreign inputs which other Chinese companies just don't know how to do.