NIO targets Tesla, VW in Norway, the runaway electric car leaders in the Nordic country, with ES8 SUV, ET7 luxury sedan
- Shanghai-based NIO will initially sell the ES8 SUV in Norway from September followed by the ET7 luxury sedan next year
- Electric car maker plans to have a presence in at least five European countries next year, founder and CEO William Li says
Shanghai-based NIO will initially sell the ES8 SUV with a driving range of 355km in the Nordic country from September followed by the ET7 luxury electric sedan, capable of doing 1,000km (620 miles) on a single charge, next year.
William Li Bin, NIO’s founder and CEO, said the EV maker aimed to have a presence in at least five European countries next year, as it pushed ahead with its ambition of becoming a global contender in an industry undergoing drastic transformation. He, however, did not name the target European markets.
“It is no easy job for a Chinese company to go global for the time being,” he said on Thursday. “We do not expect to succeed overnight. We are making our plans meticulously and we have the patience [to chase high sales volume].”
NIO did not reveal retail prices of the cars to be sold in Norway.
In China, the ES8 starts from 468,000 yuan (US$72,322), and the standard edition of the ET7, which has a driving range of 500km, is priced at 448,000 yuan. NIO plans to start delivering the extended edition of ET7, with a mileage of 1,000km on the mainland, next year. It is yet to reveal the car’s pricing.
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“It will be a small step taken by China’s leading intelligent EV companies as they internationalise their businesses,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “NIO and other Chinese carmakers will have to impress foreign customers with their technology before they can rake in good sales.”
In March, their combined sales accounted for less than half of the volume made at Tesla’s Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai.
NIO’s Li said that he believes the ET7 could be a game-changer in the luxury EV segment in Europe.
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The long-range ET7 will be fitted with a solid-state battery, deemed a better option because the electricity from solid electrodes and a solid electrolyte is safer, more reliable and more efficient than the liquid or polymer gel electrolytes found in existing lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries.
NIO also expects a boost to its sales in Europe from its “battery as a service” (BaaS) model. BaaS, which allows customers to buy an electric car while subscribing to a separate battery-leasing plan for a fee, can help lower the upfront cost of owning an EV by about 20 per cent.
