Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc NIO on Thursday unveiled the pricing for its sports utility vehicle ES8 in Norway, a market where it has just made a debut and is setting up a foundation to compete with established electric-vehicle rivals.
What Happened: Nio said it follows a global pricing strategy and, after adjusting for logistics and operating costs, the ES8 would go on sale at an entry price of about $59,575 (NOK 609,000) for the standard-range battery (75 kWh), and $66,422 (NOK 679,000) for the long-range one.
In its home country China, Nio sells ES8 starting at about $72,427 (RMB 468,000).
The Shanghai-based automaker is also trying to sweeten the deal in Norway with a flexible subscription option for Battery as a Service (BaaS).
BaaS users can choose to purchase a car without a battery, and subscribe to batteries of various capacities according to actual needs by paying a monthly subscription fee accordingly.
A standard-range battery with the BaaS option would get buyers a deduction of $8,804 (NOK 90,000) at the time of buying the car and they would have to pay a battery subscription fee of about $137 (NOK 1,399) a month.
For the long-range battery, that deduction goes up to about $15,651 (NOK 160,000), with a monthly subscription fee of $196 (NOK 1,999).
Nio said it plans to add 20 Power battery swap stations in Norway by the end of 2022. The first integrated station of battery charging and swapping in Norway is expected to be up and running by the end of October.
Why It Matters: Nio is among a growing breed of Chinese electric automakers such as BYD Co BYDDF, Li Auto LI, Xpeng Inc XPEV and others, that are now eyeing overseas expansion after successfully establishing their brand in home turf.
Norway is seen as a gateway to Europe for Nio — where industry leaders such as Tesla Inc TSLA and Volkswagen Ag VWAGGY — have a formidable presence. Chinese automakers including Nio would have to fight tooth-and-nail to grab market share in an already crowded electric vehicle market.
Nio highlighted its aim of further expansion in Europe, taking Norway as a starting point.
“Norway is our starting point of our journey in Europe and beyond. Our vision is clear: to provide our users with seamless and worry-free services as well as supreme and joyful user experiences," said Nio Europe CEO Alexander Schwarz.
Nio House: Nio also unveiled the Nio House in Norway, the first such outside of China, and gave a host of other updates related to the Norway foray that was covered in a live blog earlier by Benzinga. The Nio House in Oslo is built in a total area of 2,100 square meters. "The two-story structure has an upper floor for the display of products and services, and a lower floor for the NIO Cafe, Library, Forum, Lab, Living Room and Joy Camp areas exclusive to NIO users," the company said.
Price Action: Nio shares closed 0.23% higher at $35.13 a share on Wednesday and were up 1.35% in early premarket trading.
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Photo: Courtesy of Nio
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