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source: ecompany

on the morning of october 5, nio’s official weibo announced that on october 4, nio and the company’s strategic investor cyvn signed a strategic cooperation agreement to establish an advanced technology research and development center in abu dhabi, united arab emirates, focusing on intelligent driving and artificial intelligence. in terms of technology research and development, nio and cyvn will also jointly develop a new model targeted at the local market.

at the same time, nio announced that it will officially launch business in the middle east and north africa. this business operation will be carried out through nio middle east and north africa, a joint venture established by nio and cyvn.

it is reported that the uae will become the first market for nio middle east and north africa. according to the plan, nio will launch business in the uae in the fourth quarter of this year.

nio takes another step forward in global expansion

previously in august this year, nio’s official website and social media platform in the uae were launched, and the appointment of the local business manager was announced. at that time, this move marked the official launch of nio’s presence in the middle east market. nio also confirmed to the media that the account was operated by the newly established nio uae team.

li bin, founder, chairman and ceo of nio, said: "we are optimistic about the development prospects of smart electric vehicles in the middle east and north africa market. as an important strategic investor and partner of nio, cyvn has rich local resources and will help nio the business in the region has continued to grow. the cooperation between nio and cyvn will further promote the company’s globalization and technological innovation strategy, accelerate nio’s globalization process, and bring innovative smart electric vehicle technology and experience to users in the middle east and north africa.”

it is reported that cyvn is an investment institution majority-owned by the abu dhabi government of the united arab emirates, and its strategic focus is the smart travel industry. the fund was established in 2022 and aims to invest in global industry leaders in this field. in 2023, nio reached a strategic cooperation with cyvn, and the latter has now become nio’s largest shareholder.

in recent years, nio has been accelerating its global expansion. as early as 2021, weilai automobile has entered the european market. in may 2021, weilai launched the es8 model in the norwegian market and simultaneously started the construction of battery swap stations; then in august 2022, weilai opened a battery swap station in berlin, the capital of germany. a press conference was held and the company began to fully enter the european market.

at present, weilai has entered the market of 5 european countries in its entire system.as of the end of september 2024, 6 mass-produced models including el8 (es8 for the chinese market), et7, el7 (es7 for the chinese market), et5, et5t, and el6 (es6 for the chinese market) have entered the european market; nio has deployed 56 it has built 8 battery swap stations, accessed over 600,000 third-party charging piles, and built 8 nio centers, 10 nio spaces, and 45 nio service centers.。

car companies scramble to explore the middle east market

going to the middle east market is not nio’s unique overseas direction, but a common "must compete" for car companies going overseas.the automotive industry in the middle east has experienced vigorous growth and transformation in recent years. as one of the emerging markets, the middle east has become the focus of global automakers seeking growth space.

the middle east has a large demand for electric vehicles and supporting facilities. the "electric vehicle outlook 2024: uae" report released by pricewaterhousecoopers shows that by 2030, electric vehicles are expected to dominate new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the united arab emirates. the market share in sales will exceed 15% (approximately 58,000 vehicles), and by 2035, this share will increase to 25% (approximately 110,500 vehicles).

among them, chinese electric vehicles are very popular in the middle east market. currently, it has become an industry trend for car companies to go overseas, and the middle east has become an important market that major car companies are competing to explore. in the first 10 months of 2023, china's automobile exports to the middle east were 578,100 units, a year-on-year increase of 32.61%, including new energy vehicles. more than 110,000 vehicles were sold, a year-on-year increase of 66.44%.

electric vehicles have become a new business card for chinese brand cars in the middle east. with their high cost performance and beautiful design, chinese electric vehicles are favored by more and more middle eastern consumers. the 2023 united nations climate change conference (cop28) will be held in dubai. among the electric buses providing services for the conference, electric buses from chinese manufacturers such as yutong, byd and king long account for more than half.

in september 2023, ji krypton motors, another electric vehicle brand under geely, signed national-level general distribution agreements with dealers in the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, qatar, and bahrain to jointly build a sales service network; in march 2024, ji krypton 001 and ji kr. krypton x’s two electric vehicles are now on sale in the united arab emirates and saudi arabia.

byd will begin to enter the middle east market in 2023, entering the united arab emirates, saudi arabia, jordan, qatar, israel and other countries. in may 2024, byd will officially open its first store in riyadh, the capital of saudi arabia. in june 2024, byd completed its 1,000th delivery in the uae. byd has established itself as the leading electric vehicle brand in the middle east.

other chinese electric vehicle companies such as great wall, baic, changan, xpeng, skyworth, etc. are also exploring the middle east market.

heiko seitz, global and middle east electric vehicle leader at pwc, expects to see more electric vehicle models from chinese companies in the uae in the coming years. however, some industry insiders have analyzed that european, american, japanese and korean cars still have a dominant position in the middle east market due to their high popularity, acceptance and market share. if they want to change this market structure, chinese car companies still need to make more efforts.

editor: ye shuyun

proofreading: wang wei

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