NIO said to enter into European markets in 2021

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese EV startup NIO has already set up an overseas business unit in a bid to start selling products in European markets in 2021, according to a local media outlet.

Under the project code-named “Marco Polo”, NIO has allocated many staff members for its export business unit, aiming to sell 7,000 ES8 and ES6 SUVs in Europe within two years, according to the report that citied a source close to NIO.

The source also added that NIO's worry-free service package and “One Click for Power” service will be offered there at the same time.

Another person briefed on the matter revealed that the first overseas NIO House might be launched in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, where the local government aims to increase the number of electric vehicles to at least 1 million units and ban the sale of oil-fueled vehicles by 2023. With plentiful ports, Denmark also boasts great merits in importing goods. 

NIO plans to step into European market next year, while how the plan goes still depends on the company's overall strategic deployment, according to a person at NIO, responding to a request for comment.

NIO's “going global” ambition has emerged this year. In July, William Bin Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of NIO, said the company has built a cross-departmental organization to handle strategic planning for global markets. "Hopefully, in the second half of next year, we can start some small batch exploration in countries where EVs are popular," Li said in August. "We would like to start with European countries."

At the end of August, NIO announced the pricing of the offering of 88,500,000 American depositary shares (the “ADSs”) and grant the underwriters in the ADS Offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 13,275,000 ADSs, intending to raise over $1.7 billion.

NIO said part of the net proceeds from the ADS Offering will be used for its global market development.