NIO (car company)

NIO is an all-electric car company that was founded in 2014 by William Li and Li Hong Qin and headquartered in Jiading, Shanghai, China. NIO develops electric vehicles intended to offer smart features, driving innovations toward autonomous driving, electric powertrains, and new battery technology. The battery technology includes a battery swapping technology, known as battery as a service (BaaS), which allows vehicle owners to replace a vehicle's battery on the fly for faster recharging times. The company's electric vehicles are offered in a variety of models and trims, including an electric flagship SUV, a five-seater all-round electric SUV, and multiple models of electric sedans and coupes.

In September 2018, NIO launched its initial public offering. NIO priced its shares at $6.26, which was above the low end of its $6.25 to $8.25 target range. 160 million depository shares were sold and raised $1 billion for NIO. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley led the IPO, which included Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and UBS. At the time of the IPO, NIO sought to raise from $1.8 billion to $2.0 billion and eventually fell short of that goal.

NIO is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NIO and on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited under the same stock symbol (NIO). NIO is also listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKSE) under the stock code 9866.HK.

In March 2019, it was revealed NIO's IPO underwriters signed a year-long non-compete clause. NIO's stock performance has been rocky, with several remarkable recoveries, such as a 1,100 percentage point rise in 2020, a rally that stretched through much of 2021 before it returned to a decline. In many cases, NIO has used cash injections from state sponsorship and convertible notes to increase the company's cash flow and stock price.

Otherwise, the company's stock has suffered due to poor delivery performance, averaging only 12,600 vehicle deliveries in the first ten months of 2023; a gross margin fall to 1 percent in Q2 2023 after engaging in the electric vehicle price war occurring in participating markets to remain competitive (despite originally suggesting the company would not cut prices); and the cash burn NIO is engaged in, with some suggesting that the company loses $35,000 per vehicle sold. Much of this comes from the amount of investment the company has made in infrastructure, including its largely robotic manufacturing facilities.

NIO has sought to sell its vehicles outside of China. In 2023, the company sells its vehicles in China and around Asia while considering expanding vehicle sales to Europe and America. In Europe, the company has entered into agreements with some countries—such as an agreement to only lease cars in some European markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark—and has sought dealership agreements to continue an expansion. However, NIO's expansion into the United States has been slower than the company desires, leading the company to strike out against what it sees as US protectionism.

The NIO EP9 on a track.

E9 was NIO's first car, introduced in 2016, and is an all-electric super car. The super car produces 1 megawatt or 1,341bhp with a 0-124mph time of 7.1 seconds and a top speed of 194mph. The car came after NIO supported a team in Formula E races, and once unveiled, the EP9 has set records on various tracks in order to help gain attention. The EP9 uses four different motors, or MGUs, placed at each wheel that work together with four separate gearboxes (one per wheel). The motors of the car are developed so horsepower works in tandem with torque at the wheels, which gives the NIO EP9 its power and speed while giving it greater control through corners.

NIO's first volume-produced car, released in 2017, the NIO ES8 is 7-seater SUV with a range of 220 miles, and starting between USD $67,000 and $68,000. The ES8 shipped with NIO's NIO Pilot driver-assistance system, a 10.4 inch touchscreen, a heads-up display and voice-activated controls. NIO provides ES8 owners with mobile charging or battery-swapping services.

In June 2019, NIO had to recall 4,800 ES8 vehicles because of battery pack modules with positioning that caused short circuits in extreme cases.

The NIO ES8 at a battery-swapping station.

The ES8 can be equipped with one of three battery sizes, ranging from 75 kWh to 150 kWh, offering from 200 to 400 miles of range, with the batteries capable of being swapped through NIO's battery swap system in five minutes. The sport-utility vehicle (SUV) is developed to be a luxury vehicle, with comfortable seats and wide door openings for greater comfort entering and exiting the vehicle.

ES6 was NIO's second volume production vehicle, a 5-seat SUV released in 2018. The ES6 launched at USD $52,000 with delivery expected in June 2019. The ES6 had a range of 317 miles and had NIO's AI NOMI built in. Unlike the ES9, the ES6 was designed to be an all-around SUV (rather than a luxury SUV), still developed to have a premium look and feel with acoustic fabric to reduce road noise and increase interior noise while offering the passenger room and flexible storage space necessary for families. The ES6 has been NIO's primary selling car since its launch in 2018, and in 2023, the vehicle with equipped with the NIO Adam supercomputer, powered by four NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-chips (SoCs) to handle a large number of applications and networks necessary for autonomous vehicles.

The NIO ET5.

The NIO ET5 was released in 2021 as a mid-size sedan with a dual-motor build offering a 150 kW induction asynchronous motor in the front and a 210 kW permanent magnet motor at the rear, allowing the vehicle to do a reported zero to 60 miles an hour in 4.3 seconds. The ET5, similar to other NIO models, offers various battery ranges compatible with the vehicle, with ranges from 342 miles to 620 miles. The ET5 interior draws design cues from the ET7 and includes the Aquila Super Sensing and Adam Super Computing for autonomous driving, which is expected to be gradually offered to vehicle owners as the systems pass validation.

The NIO ET7 was NIO's fourth production vehicle and the company's first sedan, with its first model launched in 2021. The vehicle offers the same range of battery packs, with a standard 70 kWh battery for more than 310 miles with a larger 150 kWh offering up to 620-mile range. The ET7 offers users a luxury design based on simplicity to create a sleek and clean look. It includes a 12.8 inch infotainment screen and a digital gauge cluster with few buttons and a two-spoke steering wheel design. It also carries NIOs technology (sensors and compute) to allow it to be capable of autonomous driving.

The NIO EC6 is an all-electric SUV model launched in 2023 as a new, lower-cost model to give consumers more choice in their models. It offers similar battery options as its other models, including its battery-as-a-service to allow users to rent their SUV's battery each month. The vehicle comes with dual electric motors and a headlight, tail light, and sensor setup similar to other models in the company's range. Despite being a lower-entry-cost vehicle, it offers some comfort features, such as pop-up spoiler and a "Queen's sea.t" The EC6 also has autonomous features, such as the NT 2.0 sensor features and NVIDIA's ORIN chip, giving users advanced ADAS features and the potential for fully autonomous driving.

The EC7 is a more luxurious model of the EC6, an all-electric mid-large size coupe SUV that was launched in 2022. The exterior design is developed to be as aerodynamic as possible to increase vehicle efficiencies, while the interior is developed to be as comfortable as possible, including a panoramic sunroof, a digital cockpit, and sports seats with a zero-gravity mode to allow passengers to relax with their feet up. The EC7 is powered by a dual-motor AWD system and SiC power modules and three battery options or NIO's battery-as-a-service.

Launched in 2018, NIO Life is a lifestyle brand offering. In October 2018, it announced a partnership with fashion designer Hussein Chalayan, known as NIO X Chalayan. Other collaborations for the lifestyle brand have included design firm Propeller to create insulated water bottles; Clara to create dishes for sunny or rainy days; Finnish fashion designer Daniel Palillo; and designer Tom Dixon to create porcelain and suitcase lines.

NIO launched NIO House in 2018. NIO Houses are a series of clubhouses designed as a home away from home for NIO owners. The NIO Houses are spread around China. Upon entering, a NIO vehicle owner is presented with a vehicle showroom where users can see, touch, and experience other NIO vehicles. Beyond the showroom, each NIO House has a unique layout, which includes a NIO Cafe, a library where users can borrow any book or DVD and return it at any other NIO House, a conference room or forum with a capacity of 30 to 60 costs, a lab or meeting room space, a living room-like lounge, and childcare through NIO's Joy Camp.

NIO Power is a battery swap station where NIO owners can get their car's battery swapped in three minutes. NIO plans to install 1,100 stations across China by 2020. The charging has been $25 per battery swap or $130 for a monthly subscription, but NIO announced twelve free battery swaps a year for early reservation holders or owners of the Founders Edition of the ES8.

NIO Power also offers its One Click for Power, a service where a charging van will come to the NIO owner and charge their car. NIO's service is open to other EV vehicles as well.

NIO's service centers offer to fix car issues either at a center or remotely through one of its Service Express vans. The first service center opened beside a Tesla Service Centre.