Nio Plans to Launch in Middle East on Oct 22
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) from BYD, Geely, Great Wall Motor and Hongqi are becoming an increasingly common sight.
With EU governments expected to approve higher tariffs on imported Chinese EVs, the expansion to the Middle East has gained increased significance for the manufacturers.
Reuters reported on Wed that France, Italy, Greece, and Poland will vote in favour of the additional duties, while Germany has warned of potential retaliation from Beijing.
The presence of Chinese brands in the Middle East region is set to grow further with Nio, XPeng, Zeekr, and Li Auto entering the market within the next 12 months.
The premium EV maker Nio plans to hold a launch event in Abu Dhabi on Oct 22, marking its entry into the Middle East, sources familiar with the matter told EV.
The Shanghai-headquartered company expanded into Europe through Norway in 2021 and entered four additional markets on the continent in late 2022.
Ahead of its official entry into the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nio is currently constructing two showrooms one in Abu Dhabi - as previously reported by EV - and another in Dubai.
The Abu Dhabi location, set to open in Nov at the high-end mall Galleria Al Maryah Island, will be Nio's first Middle East showroom. The second one will be located at Dubai's International Financial Centre (DIFC).
In late Sep, Nio group founder and CEO William Li confirmed the company's plans, stating, "Nio House in Abu Dhabi will open in Nov. I'm planning to visit Dubai later this year or next year."
As recently reported by EV, the rollout of battery swap stations is also being prepared with the first one planned to open later this year at the Yas Marina F1 Circuit, located thirty minutes away from the capital Abu Dhabi.
Earlier this week, the company provided over 100,000 battery swaps in one day in China, a new record achieved six years after opening the first battery swap station in the country.
The expansion is supported by the UAE's push for new energy vehicles (NEVs), a key part of its long-term sustainability goals.
In 2023, the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure launched the "Global Electric Vehicle Market" initiative, targeting 50% of vehicles on the roads to be electric by 2050 - a milestone China reached in Jul.
Earlier this year, Xpeng signed with the leading UAE distributor group Ali & Sons as it accelerates its expansion in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The Guangzhou based brand signed similar partnerships with other dealer partners including RAYA Holding in Egypt, SR Group in Azerbaijan, T Gargour & Fils in Jordan, and Gargour Asia SAL in Lebanon.
Last May, Li Auto Senior Vice President Zou Liangjun announced that the company would accelerate the development of international after-sales service networks with plans to establish them in Central Asia and the Middle East this year.
So far, the Beijing-based NEV maker is only operating in China.
In late 2023, Geely's premium EV brand Zeekr reached four cooperations with AW Rostamani Holdings from the UAE, Wallan Trading Company from Saudi Arabia, Blue Lake Motors from Qatar and Y.K. Almoayyed & Sons from Bahrain.
In December 2023, Nio secured a $2.2 billion investment from CYVN Holdings, an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle, which increased CYVN’s ownership to 20.1 percent of the company’s total issued and outstanding shares.
The investment followed a $738.5 million investment made by CYVN in July 2023.
In Jul, Nio's engineering and product development team tested its vehicles to a range of harsh conditions in the Desert, including temperatures reaching up to 124°F (51 degrees Celsius).
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