NIO, A Chinese electric car company, plans to enter the US market in 2025 with its NIO Houses, battery swapping stations, and electric cars. In December 2021, the company announced its intention to be present in 25 nations and regions by 2025.
The company’s Research and Innovation Center in San Jose, California, which is currently testing its autonomous driving technologies, welcomed NIO CEO William Li last weekend. NIO is believed to be developing a battery swapping station behind its US headquarters, and before this year ends, the prototype station will be launched.
As part of the NIO’s plans to introduce their “NIO Houses” in the US, they posted job opportunities last month, including a project manager for architecture and interiors, head of construction and user infrastructure, and senior real estate manager. In total, there are 60 vacant positions and many of them for engineers.
A US factory is also believed to be in the pipeline, an effective strategy of the company to avoid US import tariffs and qualify for the federal tax credit if they meet the provisions under the Inflation Reduction Act.
NIO’s idea of developing battery swapping technology is similar to Tesla supercharger network. Although almost unknown in North America, these battery swapping technologies are prominent in China and are already present in Norway. The highlight is it will only take 5 minutes or even less for the battery swapping to be processed. Aside from having a battery with the latest technology, EV drivers can also decide on the battery size they need.
Although it is not certain that the United States will patronize battery swapping and electric vehicles from a Chinese company, NIO’s technology might change it.
