The Nio brand is still pretty much unknown in Germany.
But the Chinese EV juggernaut is planning its German launch by the end of 2022.
Neo is coming to Germany. Today: my first test drive in Germany with a Nio car.
If you want to know more about the cars, the brand, the plans for the future,
stick around and with that: Welcome to REV.
The ES8 is Nio's biggest SUV, and while it's not sold in Germany, you might still
spot it on the streets as it's available in Norway, a first in Europe for the brand.
The cool thing about Nio cars, that is apparent once you get inside, is that
little figure looking at you. Its name is Nomi. It's basically a voice recognition system, but
it's way cuter than it is in other cars. You will have a little figure that is looking at
you. Sometimes it will wink and from time to time, when it's bored, it will do funny things.
While Norway gets the ES8, the smaller ES7 SUV, and the ET7 and ET5 sedans, for the time being
it seems like it’s just the sedans and the ES7 that will make it onto the German market.
The design center for Nio Cars, by the way, is in Munich, Germany. We were
there and had a quick chat with the chief designer. By the way, we can’t show you
the center from the outside, since it's pretty secret. So, you've got to believe it's in Munich.
I mean, we are starting a new brand from scratch. So, we have a lot of creative freedom.
It's like starting with a clean sheet of paper. But at the end of the day, we want to create and
design beautiful cars for our users. So, we really keep their, you know,
experiences in mind in terms of how they want to feel when they see a Nio. So,
we really want to create a perfect car that is beautifully designed,
intuitive, easy to use and really embodies all the attributes of what our users want.
Of course, the Nio brand is a grand success in its home country – China.
The annual Nio Day attracts thousands of owners and fans from across the country.
That's in part because Nio has focused on building a community among its customers.
Nio fan clubs across China meet regularly, go on trips and even organize charity events.
And they stay in touch with the company,
which aims to directly address any questions Nio owners might have.
Nio doesn't view itself as an ordinary carmaker.
That's plain to see with their latest venture -- Nio Houses.
Potential and current Nio owners can meet, get advice on vehicles or simply grab a cup of coffee.
There are more than 65 Nio Houses in China already, and one in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
We started to sort of to indulge in an exercise trying to see if we could find what was really
essential. We came up with this feeling that it was all about
engagement and community. It's about the closeness and relationship to nature as
well. It's about a celebration of local tastes and flavors.
In Germany now, where we're about to open neo houses and these really embody also Nio's core
design principles as well. So, we really want a holistic experience for our users
so that the cars and every touchpoint for the users really feel like one red thread running
between them. So, for instance, the Nio houses, the way the furniture is, the way you are greeted,
the experience, this total experience really is something that's been driven by design.
The design philosophy around Nio was really based on our company brand values,
which are honesty, care, vision and action. And from that,
we actually developed our design DNA, which is pure, human, progressive and sophisticated.
The ES8 is roughly the size of a BMW X5 or iX,
but it aims to attract premium customers at an affordable price.
The logo itself represents our brand philosophy of vision. The upper part being the sky
and the lower part being action, sort of the road to that. So, vision and action.
Prices for the ES8 start at around
57,800 Euros, making it a good deal cheaper than the BMW iX, which costs over 77,000.
Thanks to its 400 kW motor, the ES8 has plenty of power.
Range varies between 375 and 500km, depending on what size battery you opt for.
Right now, Nio is struggling a little bit because Audi is not really satisfied with the naming of
this car, the ES8, because they say: It's too close to their S8, so the sportiest version of
their flagship model. But to be honest, it's like a different car. And also, this car is
in a completely different segment and also a completely different type of car than the S8 by
Audi. And what I think is even more important, a name consisting of a letter and a number
is not really something that you would call creative naming. So, you can steal, like,
two digits? I don't really know. If you steal a name like, I don't know, Toyota's Aygo or
something, then it's different. But numbers, letters, I don't see any problem there.
Our naming strategy is based on three digits and letters. So, the first one E,
this represents for us experience and emotion because that's what our brand is built on.
The second letter represents the car type. So, in this case, S is for SUV and the number designates
the hierarchy of the vehicle. In this case, eight being the biggest SUV we have. So ES8.
Of course, what sets the Nio brand apart is its swappable battery system.
At a battery swap station, the customer can exchange an empty battery for a fully charged one
in a matter of minutes. In the future, it'll be possible to opt for a bigger or smaller battery,
depending on availability. With the Battery as a Service option,
the battery remains the property of Nio and is rented on a monthly basis.
That simplifies swapping and ensures you always get the best possible battery.
If you want, you can also simply buy your battery.
The first Swap station outside China was recently opened in Oslo.
Over the next few years, Nio plans to build 1000 more of these swap stations in Europe. Of course,
it's also possible to charge the vehicles normally at a wallbox or public charging station.
Driving a Nio is cool. I mean, the idea I really like it. And
the only problem right now is, we'll have to wait. Wait until Nio comes onto the German market,
wait until there are enough swap stations and wait until there are the Nio houses. But
I'm pretty sure, once all of this is done, Nio is going to have a great success here.
Nio hasn't yet officially announced when exactly its models will hit the German market,
but the first will definitely be the ET7 sedan in 2022.
Equipped with two electric motors, it will pack 480kW of power. Different battery sizes will
provide ranges of 500 to 1000km, making the car a rival to the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.
While we don't yet know the German prices, in China the ET7 costs the
equivalent of 48.000 Euros, plus 150 Euros a month for renting the battery.