NIO was founded in 2014 in Shanghai by William Li and has quickly developed into one of the most recognizable Chinese automobile companies in the European market. NIO’s Munich location focuses on the car design and the brand development. It currently has more than 120 employees and is growing quickly. In total, NIO employs more than 14,000 people worldwide.
In 2021, the company has started selling its cars in Norway, which made it NIO’s first market outside China. As Mr Zhang explained, in 2022 NIO will introduce its cars to the German and European market. Having only been founded a few years ago, NIO already sold over 91,000 cars in 2021, making it the most successful year yet for the company. At the same time, the company more than doubled its 2020 sales numbers, which is an indicator for the NIO’s fast growth.
Currently, NIO is the only car producer with a battery swapping station in its portfolio. Thus, offering its customers the unique possibility of a battery renting model. Customers can change their whole car battery at the battery swapping stations in a few minutes and thus greatly reduce charging times. At this time, NIO already has installed more than 800 such stations in China, one of which can handle a volume of up to 300 batteries a day. The company is striving to build a network of battery swapping stations in Germany and Europe as well.
NIO is a great example of an internationally successful Chinese company. We wish Mr Zhang Hui and NIO all the best for this year’s introduction of their cars in the German market and continued success in the future.