EV brand NIO lays foundations for UK car sales launch

The electric car brand NIO is busy laying the foundations for when it begins importing its EVs into the UK from China, although it’s not yet ready to declare precisely when that will be.

However it is setting up its national sales company at offices in Milton Keynes, and it has already appointed 16 senior staff, who report to NIO UK managing director Matt Galvin, who is also Nio Europe head of sales.

AM’s editor Tim Rose joined Galvin and other executives from the company at the European launch of its EL6 electric SUV in Germany, where NIO has been selling cars for about a year, and learned that NIO will not diverge from the brand’s business model of direct-to-consumer sales through online and company-owned locations, known as a ‘NIO House’ and a ‘NIO Space’ when it finally launches in the UK, which could be late next year in line with the carmaker’s 25 by 2025 international rollout plan.

It gave UK motoring enthusiasts a glimpse of the ET5 saloon this summer at Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the launch team in the UK already includes heads of marketing and communications, HR, finance, sales, fleet and aftersales/service operations plus a network rollout manager.

Although NIO customers will mostly charge at home or work, AM understands that some planning proposals are already under way in the UK for Nio’s Power Swap Stations (PSS), properties little bigger than a shipping container where a Nio EV’s depleted battery can be swapped automatically for a fully charged one in less than five minutes to help drivers on long distance journeys to extend their range. The PSS sites (pictured above) also have rapid chargers for all EVs to use.

Galvin said the battery swap service is currently included in Nio’s lease or subscription packages in its existing markets. Customers who buy the car and battery outright do not get battery swaps.

Asked how the carmaker will reach prospective buyers, NIO UK head of brand and user development Tom Wharfe wouldn’t give UK specifics but explained that in NIO’s existing European markets like Germany it uses targeted paid media and ‘ripple marketing’ rather than mass media.

The NIO app, which customers download, is another tool as it encourages referrals – owners can invite friends to meet socially at a NIO House or suggest test-drives. The app also earns them loyalty points for usage or NIO House visits, which they can exchange for perks.

Typical customers are aged 35 to 50 white collar workers – after all, the EL6 is a 65,000 euro (£57,000) prestige car that looks set to rival electric SUVs from the likes of Volvo, BMW and Audi.

“Customers are pioneers, they like to try something new,” added Galvin.

NIO electric cars are already on sale in Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany. 

Galvin told AM in 2022, shortly after he left Volvo Car UK for the new role at NIO, that he thought the UK’s new car market is ripe for disruption.

“There are a lot of emerging brands that want to claim a slice of the marketplace and I think consumers are open to transacting online and direct. Those making that journey as seamless and easy as possible will be successful.

“NIO is an incredibly exciting brand, with a really interesting set of principles and with its battery-swap tech I think it offers something really compelling that has legs…very long legs,” he said at the time.