Tesla—the leading electric car company and brainchild of controversial figure Elon Musk— isn’t the only automobile manufacturer making enormous gains in 2020.

A previously unknown Chinese automobile manufacturer called Nio is quickly asserting itself on the global stage as a premier electric car manufacturing company. Founded in Shanghai by Peking University graduate William Li, the company has locations worldwide, such as London, San Jose, and Munich. Nio has recently secured 1 billion dollars from Chinese investors in April and is looking to ramp up its production and distribution outside China.

Nio’s Headquarter in Shanghai

Nio is already a domestic name in China, moving 10,331 vehicles in its Q2 report, which led to its stock price to rocket this past summer—from a low of $7 at the beginning of July to a high of $20 on August 26th. The company is expected to quadruple its profits within the next two years, with $5.1 billion as the projected revenue in 2022.

Nio currently has four electric vehicles available on the market: The ES6, the ES8, and the EP9. The ES6, a 5-seater high-performance premium smart SUV, is currently the company’s best-seller, with 2,840 automobiles delivered in August alone. The more expensive ES8, a 7-seater high-performance premium smart SUV, came in second place, with 1,125 cars sold in June.

Nio’s chic model ES6

Besides producing high-quality electric vehicles, Nio is at the forefront of innovation. The company invests heavily in autonomous driving technologies and is even producing the first in-car AI system called NOMI AI. This unique system is designed to pull up in-car navigation, control music, and even take passengers’ selfies in the Cabin. 

The Chinese automobile manufacturer also relies on newly-developed battery-swapping stations instead of a Supercharger network like Tesla. Tesla has tried to implement battery-swapping in the past but was unable to do so on a large scale. Nio currently has a network of 131 battery-swap stations that cover a few thousand kilometers of Chinese highways, with locations on major roads such as the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway and the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway. 

Nio is not only innovative but flat out cool. The company’s work environment is similar to Google and Facebook in that they cultivate and foster a sense of community. These large, technological hubs are built with sleek, modern designs and equipped with recreational facilities such as basketball courts. The Chinese company also invests heavily in competitive racing, where they won an FIA Formula E Championship with their single-seater, electric racing car.

Nio’s Formula E racing car in action

Nio is the next electric car company to make it big. Their sense of innovation, generous amount of investors, and top-tier electrical cars will make them a competitor for a long time. Be sure to keep a lookout for this Chinese automobile company in the near-feature as they will be making headlines in the automobile industry.

[zombify_post]


0 Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Andrew Gao