Chinese electric car company Nio announced Thursday that it plans to start deliveries in Norway in September – this will be the company's first entry into a market outside of China.
See also: Washington-“Clean Cars 2030”: Only electric vehicles from 2030
Nio plans to debut the ES8 SUV in the new market this year, with the ET7 sedan expected to follow in 2022. The company expects to increase its local staff from 15 people to 50 by the end of the year.
The Norwegian venture will begin with a flagship “Nio House” store in Oslo that is set to open in the third quarter of the year. Four smaller stores are set to open in other parts of Norway next year.
See also: Electric vehicles: Volvo Cars sets ambitious goals for the future
More than half of new cars sold in Norway last year were battery-electric vehicles, according to the Norwegian Road Federation. The share has risen sharply – reaching 54.3% compared to 42% the previous year.
Electric vehicles have dominated new passenger car sales in Norway for the past three years – Volkswagen's Audi e-tron came out on top last year, Tesla in 2019 and the Nissan Leaf in 2018.
See also: Toyota will launch three electric vehicles in the US this year
Other Chinese electric car makers are already selling their vehicles in Norway. Xpeng delivered 100 units of its electric G3 SUV in December. Xpeng hopes that customers in northern Europe will respond to its P7 electric sedan later this year, Chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said at the Shanghai auto show last month.
Information source: cnbc.com
