| 100px | |
| Headquarters |  Shanghai, China
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| Founded | November 2014 |
| Series | Stock Car E-Series |
NIO (Chinese: 蔚来; pinyin: Wèilái) is a Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in designing and developing electric vehicles. The company is one of the six official manufacturers for the Stock Car E-Series, funding Qiao Race Team.
History[edit | edit source]
NIO was founded in November 2014 by William Li (Chinese: 李斌; pinyin: Lǐ Bīn), the Chairman of Bitauto and NextEV. Its first model, the NIO EP9 sports car, debuted the same day the brand was established.
In October 2016, NIO announced that it had been given an "Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit" by the California DMV and it would begin testing on public roads under the "Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program" guidelines as part of its autonomous vehicle program. According to the company, it planned to launch vehicles with level-three and level-four autonomy. The company opened its first battery swap station in the Nanshan District of Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, dubbed the "Power Swap Station", in May 2018; the network has since grown to over 700 swap stations throughout China.
The NIO ET7 was unveiled in China on 9 January 2021 at the 'NIO Day' event in Chengdu, retaining many design cues of the 2019 NIO ET Preview concept car. It acts as a direct competitor to Tesla's Model S sedan in China.
Motorsport[edit | edit source]
The team is one of the original Stock Car E-Series teams, having announced their participation late in 2020 prior to the inaugural season launching at Atlanta. Qiao Race Team was named as the manufacturer's official partner, and announced a lineup consisting of two Chinese drivers: Huang Jie, a Eurocup regular and World Stock Car Championship reserve driver, and 18-year-old Miao Xiuying, who graduated into the E-Series after four years in the SC-4 Chinese Championship.