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Chinese EV Maker NIO to Set up Overseas Division, Accelerating its Sales in Europe

November 3, 2020 0:39 am

Beijing (PingWest)—Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO is in the process of setting up an overseas division, tentatively codenamed the "Marco Polo Project", to sell its models in Europe, according to Chinese news outlet iyiou.com.

Citing sources close to NIO, the report said that the company's first overseas physical store "NIO House" could be in Copenhagen, Denmark.

NIO already has an export business team, which has recently deployed many staff members, and plans to sell 7,000 ES8 and ES6 models there in two years, another person close to NIO said, adding that the core of NIO's export business is service-oriented, including one-touch power-ups.

"In the second half of 2021, we expect to foray into some countries where EVs are favored," Li Bin, founder and CEO of NIO, said in August, hinting that the company will enter the European market.

Although Denmark is not a major market for new energy vehicles in Europe, it has great potential. There are many ports in Denmark, which are convenient for transportation and import. Meanwhile, the government is vigorously promoting NEVs, the sale of fossil fuel vehicles will be banned by 2030.

NIO has multiple R&D and design centers around the world, two of which are located in Europe, mainly responsible for the style and design of its models.

According to the report, the Marco Polo Project may be headed by Chen Chen, who was formerly in charge of sales at BMW MINI East and also served as NIO's senior director of sales and management.