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NIO Day is fast approaching, but what exactly is it?
NIO, founded in 2014, is a Chinese electric car company. Its mission is to build the world’s safest, smartest, and most efficient electric cars. Although the EV company has its headquarters in China, they are fast becoming an international sensation while entering the European market.
Let’s dive into this annual event and discover what all the hype is about. Read on!
What is NIO Day?
NIO, often referred to as the “Tesla of China,” has released several electric vehicle models since its inception eight years ago. These models’ release dates and information are announced on NIO Day each year at a glamorous event held at a new location in a different city.
To introduce its newest models and innovations, the company organizes NIO Day towards the end of the year or at the start of the following year.
Host City Bidding Process
NIO allows various major cities each year to bid for a hosting opportunity. Think of the bidding process as similar to the Olympics bidding process. The difference is that interested applicants need to be local NIO users to bid for NIO Day hosting.
Users will then be allowed to vote for their choice of the city on the NIO app, and the city with the most votes will host that year’s NIO Day.
User advisers and the company’s partners must conduct official meetings to develop the city bid proposal for NIO Day, and the application must be begun by local NIO car clubs. If a city has multiple clubs, it must submit a joint bid. Each city’s NIO car clubs are eligible to apply.
Cities that have held NIO Day events within the last eight years are ineligible to apply again under the electric vehicle’s current policies. As such, the host cities for NIO Day 2022 could not include Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Suzhou.
In addition, the candidate cities must have a venue that can accommodate large crowds and a minimum seating capacity of 8,000 people. For NIO Day 2022, the candidate cities had to have a schedule open for ten consecutive days between December 1, 2022, and January 15, 2023.
NIO Day 2022 Host City Bidding Information
During the bidding process for the host city of NIO Day 2022, the following transpired:
- The NIO Day organizing committee conducted a preliminary venue inspection of the candidate cities from July 17 to July 20, 2022. Car clubs in each city submitted their bid intentions by July 17, 2022, at 22:00 Beijing time.
- The electric carmaker required all formal application materials to be sent to them by August 12, 2022, at 22:00 Beijing time.
- After an evaluation, the organizing committee presented three potential cities for user vote on August 13, 2022. These cities included Hefei, Xi’an, and Guangzhou, and were chosen from a shortlist of 10 cities.
- The three finalist cities were shown on the NIO app from August 15, 2022, to August 25, 2022, where users could cast their votes from August 26, 2022, to August 27, 2022.
- Hefei received a 42% vote among the three cities and was selected to host the glamorous event in 2022.
- Preparations for the most anticipated day began on June 7, 2022, with recruiting members for the user advisory panel.
History of NIO Day
NIO has been launching electric vehicles annually, typically on NIO Day. Let’s look at each event since the company was founded in November 2014.
2014
NIO was founded in November 2014 and unveiled its first EV on the same day. The EP9 electric hypercar was the company’s debut vehicle, with production on the EP9 beginning in 2016.
2017
The first NIO Day was held in Beijing on December 16, 2017. At the event, the electric vehicle company launched the ES8, which became the company’s first production model.
2018
NIO Day 2018 was held in Shanghai on December 16, 2018. The EV company launched the ES6 at the event. The event’s theme, “Together & Better,” described it as a “fun gathering for NIO users to grow together,” according to the NIO website. About 10,000 of the EV company’s users and fans participated in the event, with several others participating at 53 global venues.
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2019
On December 28, 2019, Shenzhen hosted the NIO Day 2019 event, where the EC6 was launched. The theme for the event was “Believe in Better.” The theme was an ode to the company’s trials and tribulations experienced in 2019.
Part of the negativity NIO faced was the company’s financial report for Q2 2019. NIO reported a loss of $478.6 million during Q2 2019 due to reduced sales of its electric SUV, the ES8. This resulted in the electric vehicle company only generating $219.7 million in revenue, a 7.5% decrease from Q1 2019.
2020
The NIO Day 2020 event had to move from the end of 2020 to the following year, on January 9, 2021, due to Covid-19. The event was in Chengdu and was themed “Always Forward.”
In addition, the bidding process to determine the event’s host city was introduced in 2020.
At the event, NIO launched the following:
- The company’s first-ever sedan, the ET7
- A 150kWh battery pack compatible with all its models
- A 2nd generation swap station
- NT2.0, an autonomous driving technology platform
With its high specifications at launch, analysts predicted nothing would compare to the ET7 sedan by the time deliveries begin in 2021. Sales for the ET7 began in March 2022 and became a direct competitor of Tesla’s Model S sedan.
2021
It was confirmed in July 2021 that NIO Day 2021 would take place in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The annual event was on December 18, 2021, with the theme “Hello World.” The theme highlighted their expansion into the European market, with sales beginning in Norway.
At the event, the EV carmaker unveiled its new sedan, the ET5.
NIO Day Berlin 2022
On October 7, 2022, NIO held its European launch in Berlin. The theme for the event was “New Horizon.” As NIO is releasing three electric car models in Europe soon, this event was perfect for whetting everyone’s appetites.
The three models revealed for the European market are:
- ET7 – an electric sedan
- ET5 – an electric sedan
- EL7 – an electric SUV
Despite having its headquarters in Shanghai, China, the company has set its sights on international markets since its inception. NIO’s current European market reflects this, as evidenced by:
- The design center in Munich, Germany
- The IT and AI centers in San Jose, California
- The technical center in Oxford, UK
At the NIO Day in Berlin, the company reaffirmed, “Flexibility is the new premium.” The EV company is aiming at potential customers who enjoy international travel, appreciate good design, and don’t fixate on ownership as a status symbol.
When is NIO Day 2022?
After a grueling bidding process, the annual event where the EV car company launches its newest products and technologies will be in Hefei, the largest city in Anhui Province. The date of the event is currently unknown. However, NIO Day 2022 is currently unknown, but expected to occur between December 1, 2022, and January 15, 2023.
When is NIO Day 2023?
Previous event bidding processes began around June or July of each year. So, the bidding process for NIO Day 2023 will likely begin in the middle of 2023, with the event likely occurring between December 1, 2023, and January 15, 2024.
