Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO will hold its European launch event in Berlin on October 8, marking the firm’s exploration of new business opportunities in Europe.
This event, dubbed “NIO Berlin 2022,” will be the first held by the firm outside its home market in China. “NIO House in Frankfurt is under construction. The 1,700-square-meter NIO House will open early next year,” said William Li, Chairman and CEO of NIO. Li also revealed the latest moves of NIO in the European market on the local version of the NIO app.
In addition to releasing information related to European market plans, William Li and Qin Lihong, Co-Founder and President of NIO, will drive the NIO ET7 from Frankfurt to kick off a 10-day road trip that will reach 10 European cities.
“The ET7 performs well on the Autobahn. Handling, comfort, NVH, sound system, energy consumption and NIO Pilot. Everything is superb! Our four-hour drive from Munich to Frankfurt was such a hassle-free journey. Lihong and Ralph, NIO Germany GM, also had a joyful trip to Frankfurt,” wrote Li.
In May last year, NIO announced its entry into the Norwegian market. In September 2021, the first NIO House outside China opened in Oslo, Norway. On August 22 this year, NIO announced that its ET7 will be available for pre-order and delivery in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
With the delivery of the vehicles, NIO synchronizes the layout of its battery swapping network. When NIO entered the Norwegian market in May last year, it announced that it would also launch the “battery as a service” (BaaS) model in Europe.
NIO will offer battery rental and replacement services in an effort to expand the electric vehicle market in Europe, Reuters reported on September 21. Sources said NIO is now looking for an asset management company in Europe to promote the business. The battery replacement service will allow users to obtain a fully charged battery in just a few minutes, saving a lot of charging time.
BaaS, which is based on vehicle-battery separation technology, reduces the cost of purchase for users. Over the past year, NIO has been experimenting with battery rental and replacement services for its ES8 SUV in Norway.
A NIO insider told Cailian Press that more than 90% of Norwegian users have chosen to rent batteries, making NIO determined to set up a battery service firm in Europe.
On September 16, the NIO Power Europe Plant in Budapest, Hungary, saw the first battery swap station roll off the production line and await shipment to Germany. “It took NIO only seven weeks from the announcement on July 29 to the first power station coming off the line,” Qin said at the time. “NIO will increase its investment in Hungary and establish the operational fulcrum of NIO‘s European strategy here.” In the second half of this year, NIO‘s power charging services will be officially launched in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark together with related products.
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