Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO starts European expansion drive in Norway

London, April 8 (People’s Daily Online) – Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker NIO has taken a series of steps aimed at expanding its presence into Norway, which already ranks first in the global electric vehicle market with over a 85 percent electric vehicle penetration rate.

Photo shows the entranceway into NIO’s first European-based NIO House in Oslo, Norway. (Photo/Wu Yidan)

In late 2021, NIO opened its first European NIO House in Norway’s capital at Karl Johans Gate 33, which is Oslo's center of commerce and culture. Covering some 2,100 square meters, the NIO House location in Oslo is an "offline user community" that includes a showroom, cafe and workspace for customers.

According to Ola Smines, NIO House Specialist, NIO House Oslo receives between 8,000 to 9,000 visitors during weekends and has even received more than 10,000 people a day during peak times such as holidays.

"NIO has always been committed to providing users with a joyful lifestyle and bringing positive friendships and meaningful interactions to NIO community members," Zhang Hui, Vice President of NIO Group said.

The introduction of the Chinese company’s NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 represents yet another consistent step towards its further expansion into Europe. The company aims to install 1,000 such power swap stations outside of China by 2025, and Europe is considered a significant target market in that respect.

Photo shows a NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 installed by NIO in Norway, which is the first such power swap station to be installed by the company in Europe. (Photo/Wu Yidan)

The first NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 in Europe is located on the E-18 highway near both Oslo and Drammen.

The NIO Power Swap Station 2.0 is the world’s first mass-produced power exchange station that enables vehicles to enter the station automatically. The user only needs to press the confirm button after parking the vehicle in front of the Power Swap Station, then the vehicle will turn on the automatic parking mode and complete the power exchange within five minutes.

Gert-Jan Geerinckx, the Head of Power for NIO in Germany, explained that NIO's power charger and power swap station can serve as a double insurance option to ensure that users can charge or swap out their battery in a timely manner before travelling.

NIO's power chargers are open to all electric car users, offering a reasonable price and efficient instructions.

Compared with the first-generation of power swap stations, the second-generation one has been updated and iterated in terms of its total battery reserve, power-charging efficiency, battery recovery rate, and safety.

By the end of this year, NIO will launch its market expansion plans in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark as well as further expanding its power swap station network in Norway.