Tesla's Chinese Rival Nio Set To Enter UAE Market By Year-End As Beijing Deepens Middle East Ties

Tesla’s Chinese Rival Nio Inc. NIO plans to expand into the Middle East, specifically the UAE, by the end of this year.

What Happened: CEO William Li revealed the move during an earnings call on Thursday, CNBC reported. The company, which has been operating at a loss, aims to start shipping its lowest-cost brand, Firefly, in the first half of next year. Nio recently received funding from Middle East-based investors and saw record-high deliveries of 20,544 vehicles in May.

Nio primarily sells in China and parts of Europe, focusing on the higher-end market. Li mentioned that the brand can break even if monthly sales reach around 30,000 vehicles. The company plans to offer its products and services in the UAE by year-end.

Li stated that the Onvo L60 SUV, set to begin deliveries in September, starts at 219,900 yuan ($30,349). An even lower-priced brand, Firefly, is also in the works, with its first car expected in the first half of next year, priced between 100,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan.

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Nio’s recent partnership with Melexis for advanced sensor technology is a significant step forward. The Belgian semiconductor company will supply cutting-edge current sensor chips for Nio’s traction inverter systems, enhancing the performance of Nio’s battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Why It Matters: This announcement comes just days after rival BYD also made the UAE its entry point to the Middle East, opening a showroom in Dubai Festival City last November.

Despite missing first-quarter delivery targets, Nio appears to be on an upward trajectory. According to an expert analysis, the company is showing signs of recovery. The stock had dropped 6.5% to $4.92 following the results, but recent developments suggest a positive outlook.

However, the growing closeness between China and the Middle East has caused worry for the U.S. which has slowed down AI chip sales to the region to prevent access of Chinese companies to these advanced chips.

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Pooja Rajkumari