NIO (car company)

NIO

Type	Private
Industry	Automotive
Founded	Shanghai, China 2014 (2014)
Founder	William Li
Number of locations	12 (4 major, 8 minor)
Area served	Beijing, China Hefei, China Hong Kong, China Kunshan, China Nanjing, China Shanghai, China Munich, Germany London, United Kingdom Oxford, United Kingdom San Francisco, United States San Jose, United States
Key people	William Li, Chairman & Founder Padmasree Warrior, CEO NIO U.S., & Chief Development Officer, NIO Kris Tomasson, Vice President of Design Nelson Piquet, Jr., Test Driver Oliver Turvey, Test Driver
Number of employees	2000+ approx. (2017)
Divisions	NextEV NIO Formula E Team
Website	nio.io

NIO is a global start-up based in China, designing and developing high-performance, premium electric, autonomous vehicles. NIO has R&D and design experts from around the world with significant technology and management background from leading automobile and high tech companies, with more than 2,000 employees in its 12 locations. The company is also involved in the FIA Formula E Championship, the world’s first single-seater, all-electric racing series. The name for the company in China is Weilai.

History

NIO was founded by the Chairman of Bitauto and NextEV, William Li. After launch, several companies went in to invest, these including Tencent, Temasek, Baidu, Sequoia, Lenovo, TPG and other world-renowned investment institutions. Its track car the NIO EP9 was debuted the same day the brand was established.

NIO was launched with the intention from William Li to lead the way with autonomous, electric-powered, and smart vehicles, and to make their owners feel positive about owning their products. They also want to redefine what premium service means for a car company.^[1]

In October 2016 NIO announced that it was issued an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit by the California DMV and it would begin testing on public roads under the Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program guidelines as it progresses on its path to bring autonomy to market.^[2]

Vehicles

Production vehicles

NIO EP9

The NIO EP9 is a track-only, electric-powered, mid-engined two-seater supercar manufactured by NIO and their Formula E counterpart. It debuted in the Saatchi Gallery in London, England.^[3] The car is powered by four electric motors each delivering 335.25 hp (250 kW; 340 PS) for a total of 1,341 hp (1,000 kW; 1,360 PS), and all four are driven by four independent transmissions, therefore making the car all-wheel drive.

The six EP9s were produced for NIO's investors. In April 2017, NIO announced it would produce 10 extra EP9s for pre-order to the public for $1.48M.

NIO ES8

The NIO ES8 is an all-new SUV by NIO that is planned to be put into production in 2018 for the China Market.^[4] NIO had been testing the vehicle for thousands of miles in Yakeshi, Inner Mongolia.

The ES8 is a 7-seater full-size production car, with a wheelbase of 2,997 mm (118 in) and a body length of 4,978 mm (196 in). The body and chassis are going to be completely aluminum, and the drivetrain will be all-wheel drive standard, and also featuring active air suspension. The design will include the X-bar and NIO's signature "Spark Beat" taillights. The ES8 will be powered by a battery, and will be swappable.

The vehicle will be officially launched by the end of 2017 and more information including technical specifications and pricing will be provided at this time.

Concept vehicles

NIO Eve

The NIO EVE is an autonomous driving concept car that was unveiled in 2017, in a working form. The car is intended to give drivers an entertaining, augmented, and connected experience whilst on the move.

The vehicle contains new technologies that are not being currently used today, hinting the possible future for NIO.

Specifications and pricing of the Eve are unknown.

Technologies

NOMI

NOMI is an artificially-intelligent digital companion which always learns its driver and passenger's self-interests and information to meet their needs. The device's embodiments are found at the front and rear. This system is used on NIO's Eve concept car, which is said to be in production in 2020.

Motorsport

NIO currently participates in the Formula E championship with their counterpart NextEV NIO Formula E, and races their cars with their test drivers, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Oliver Turvey. From the inaugural season of the series to present, NextEV has not won a Constructors' Championship yet and has yet to win one, but has won a Drivers' Championship, and two races, the 2015 Long Beach ePrix and the 2015 Moscow ePrix, both races from the 2014–2015 Formula E season.

World records

NIO set a total of 5 records in their track-only EP9 for the fastest lap for an electric-powered car in the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Circuit Paul Ricard, Circuit of the Americas, and Shanghai International Circuit tracks.

References