Nio (NYSE: NIO) has largely stopped exploring new markets over the past few years, focusing on its existing overseas markets in Europe, after announcing a goal of entering more than 25 countries and regions by 2025 about 3 years ago.

Now the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker has revived that goal, signaling a significant acceleration in the pace of its international expansion.

"I hope that we can expand to up to 25 different countries or regions by the end of next year," Nio's co-founder and president Qin Lihong said in an interview with Chinese state-run media outlet CGTN on the sidelines of the just-concluded 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan.

"And we want to enter more than 90 percent of the market presence in next five to 10 years. That's our plan," Qin added, according to a video of the interview released last night.

Nio unveiled its plans to enter the global market in May 2021 and opened its first showroom in an overseas market in Norway on October 1 of the same year, marking the official start of its international expansion efforts.

About two months after entering Norway, Nio unveiled its plans to expand globally at the Nio Day 2021 event on December 18, 2021, stating that it would soon enter Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.

Nio aimed to serve users in more than 25 countries and regions around the world by 2025, the company's founder, chairman, and CEO William Li announced at the Nio Day 2021 event.

Li didn't announce at the time which those 25 countries would include, but subsequent local media reports said they would include core global automotive markets including the US, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

After entering more European countries as planned, Nio has spent the last few years overseas focusing on five markets -- Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark -- while restraining from entering others.

Meanwhile, Nio's prospects for entering the US market have become murkier as the US tightens restrictions on Chinese carmakers.

This year, Nio resumed its efforts to expand into new markets, announcing on October 4 the formation of Nio MENA with its Middle East backer, Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings, marking its entry into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market.

The UAE had been selected as the initial market for Nio MENA, positioning the region as a key player in the deployment of advanced autonomous driving systems and battery swap technology.

On November 15, Nio announced the appointment of Green Car as its national distributor in Azerbaijan to enter the Azerbaijani market, for the first time ever, through a partnership with a local distributor, rather than the direct sales model the company had previously been using.

Nio would officially begin deliveries in Azerbaijan in the second quarter of 2025, offering a full suite of services to customers in the Caucasus, the company said.

Qin said in the CGTN interview that every automotive company is born global and that Nio could not even survive in a single market without a global presence.

He emphasized that the Chinese home market remains paramount for Nio.

"So of course, you know, China is our home market. And also this is the biggest and also the most competitive market. We have to beat the competition in the China market first of all."

"And in parallel, we will proactively expand our presence in different regions and markets around the world. In the Middle East, Europe, and also Azerbaijan," Qin said.

Nio enters Azerbaijan market with unprecedented distributor deal