Nio officially launches in Europe with all cars available on subscription

08 October 2022

Nio officially launched its brand onto the European markets with all of its three models available in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden to begin with. The company introduced its Power Swap Station program and confirmed availability of its electric cars for orders and deliveries.

In a last minute change, Nio had to alter the name of its electric SUV from ES7 to EL7 to avoid a dispute with Audi. Apart from that late bump in the road, everything else went smoothly on the day. The company announced it already has servicing partners in all major cities across the new countries it's launching in and it confirmed it will have 20 Power Swap Stations installed by the end of this year, with over 120 stations planned for next year.

Nio car owners will conduct all business via Nio App - booking service appointments, reporting issues, buying cars and buying other products from the extensive range of the Nio Life lifestyle brand. The Nio App offers full control of the vehicle as well as all connected services. Nio is planning to build a community around the brand with first Nio Houses being opened in Germany and further planned across Europe.

When you look closely at Nio’s business model, you realize the company is so much more than just the electric car manufacturer. This community business model is fairly new to European markets, many brands tried that before but failed miserably. Nio has been very successful in its attempt in creating community around its products and services so far and it seems customers embrace its efforts.

The three models being launched across the first European countries are the electric SUV EL7 and two electric sedans - the larger ET7 and slightly smaller ET5. Smaller does not mean small by any means - the ET5 is 10 cm longer than Tesla Model 3 and just a whisker longer than BMW i4. The ET7, despite its misleading appearance, is a very large sedan - it is nearly 13 cm longer than Tesla Model S or Lucid Air.

All three models will come with dual-motor AWD powertrains. The EL7 and ET7 share the 480 kW powertrain and the ET5 is coming with a less powerful but still juicy 360 kW. All three cars are capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4 seconds and Nio did not forget about brakes - all cars have 4-piston large diameter brakes and even the heaviest EL7 stops from 100 km/h in less than 34 meters.

There is no doubt that Nio vehicles offer a true premium experience. Gone are the days when this automaker was bench-marking Mercedes for quality. I say this from personal experience - Mercedes can learn a few valuable lessons from Nio on quality, design and service. Many companies try to offer premium products but mistake the quality for tons of leather, multitude of switches and large screens. Nio nails the premium offering and should be considered a leader in the category.

With premium quality comes premium price - there is no hiding from that. Since Nio is no longer aiming at Mercedes, BMW or Audi but unashamedly has joined the ranks, so did its prices. The company is introducing subscription services for its cars with - at least for now - no other option available to buy neither of the vehicles.

It may seem like a misstep but the company actually took a good and deep look into the premium car owners, the results of that uneasy close and personal research showed that the overwhelming majority of customers buying premium cars are in some way involved in business. They either own their business or work on a freelance basis and are able to take advantage of tax arrangements.

That, my friends, is the secret sauce to premium car ownership. And Nio knows that a subscription is a far better option for business users than a standard lease. Individual users won’t be able to take the full advantage of subscription but of course still can take it out. In a nutshell - with the lease only the VAT part of the payments is tax deductible but when it comes to subscription, the entire amount is classed as an expense and can be fully deducted from payable taxes.

Nio’s subscription service may be an unwelcome move by a minority of the potential buyers who were hoping for a standard finance with lower monthly payments, but the business community is already paying attention and trying to work out the exact savings. Nio has a really cunning plan.

What kind of prices are we talking about? Nio ET5 will start at €999 per month, the ET7 will cost €1,199 and the EL7 will be €1,299 per month. That’s pricing in Germany and on a 36 month contract. There is a flexible contract available with only monthly commitment but obviously at a slightly higher price. The longest subscription lasts 5 years. The prices are quite cleverly staggered on a sliding scale - renting a brand new car will be more expensive than renting an older one.

Subscription is all inclusive - it comes with fully comprehensive insurance, all servicing costs are included, even the tires are part of the service.

On the technology side of things Nio’s vehicles are all equipped with the latest Aquila Super Sensing ADAS with high definition and high range LiDAR and 33 supporting sensors. The Adam on-board CPU has 1,016 TOPS and together with all the sensors offers Nio’s Navigate On Pilot autonomous system.

The HD mapping together with HD GPS offers incredible accuracy down to 20 cm, the AI assistant NOMI takes care of pretty much everything and there is an option of world’s first in-car AR glasses for truly immersive experience.

Nio’s entry to Europe is not a wake-up call to all other premium brands. It’s too late for the wake-up, Mercedes, Audi and BMW have clearly overslept this one. You need to experience Nio car for yourself to actually understand how far ahead of the competition this Chinese company is.

Its understated and timeless design works extremely well, both for the outside and the interior, and since it is the interior where we spend most of our time driving, the tranquil experience in Nio is a true benchmark. The subscription service will work well for a specific group of customers, the entire Nio product and services environment will convert first-time buyers into brand enthusiasts and that is worth gold for any automaker.

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