If you don’t already know her, it won’t take long to hear her name. NIO wants to become one of the largest companies in the automotive sector. Their cars already circulate in many countries of the world, a few within the European territory. The Chinese know that our market is very important, and that is why they have plans to increase their presence in the old continent. NIO is going to build a factory in Europe, the first of them, but not to produce electric cars, at least for now.
The brand itself has announced it. Starting next September, NIO will begin the construction phase of its first plant abroad. Within the borders of China, NIO is gaining a lot of weight thanks to its reasonably priced electric cars with excellent qualities. However, the company is more than its vehicles, as it is also committed to unique technologies and systems, such as its well-known Battery Swap or battery exchange stations.
The Chinese know that for now recharging is the great weak point of electric mobility. To remedy current problems, NIO proposes a battery exchange system as a fast and affordable solution for recharging. Their Battery Swaps are already present in Europe, but in very low numbers. The first of its plants outside the People’s Republic of China will open in Europe, although it will not manufacture electric cars, as we all believed until now.
At the end of the year, NIO had to back down in its eagerness to start the production of vehicles outside its native country. When all the rumors pointed to it, the manufacturer announced the opposite. Nevertheless, NIO is going to open a plant in Europe, more specifically in the city of Pest, Hungary. The works will begin next September and once they are finished, they will begin to assemble specific products for their electric cars, mainly the battery exchange stations.
NIO expects to plant more than 4,000 Battery Swaps worldwide, a quarter of them outside of China. Although the manufacturer acknowledges that it is its own system, it hopes that it will become a standard within the industry, selling the patent to other brands. With a change process that takes less than five minutes, exchange stations are a great, albeit expensive, bet to extend electric mobility. All this is included in a very specific strategy for Europe that started months ago.
The first NIOs are already circulating in Europe. The Chinese have begun their conquest from the north, through Norway. Deliveries of the NIO ES8 began last year and the first dealership opened a few months later. The intention is to continue this expansion throughout the European territory, targeting important markets such as the German or Dutch, Swedish or Danish for the second half of this year.
