Seen! Will Mercedes boss Ola Källenius come to talk about working with Nio?
Autovisie was in the right place at the right time, just as Mercedes boss Ola Källenius entered the Nio lounge. He sat in a booth behind us, where he had a long chat with Nio founder William Li. About what?
Nio is more than just one of many Chinese brands. The ET7 and EL7 available in the Netherlands are excellent electric cars according to Autovisie and the brand’s battery swapping stations are an impressive piece of technology.
William Li, the Elon Musk of Nio
You can think of William Li as the Elon Musk of China, but without the narcissistic traits and Twitter obsession. What’s smart is that he’s turned Nio into a lifestyle brand with Apple-like design cues. Nio not only sells cars, but also trendy merchandise.
The concept of the Nio House is interesting. There is currently a Nio House in the Netherlands, in Rotterdam. A second is coming in Amsterdam. Of course there are cars, but it’s also just a cafe and workspace for students and freelancers.
Nio wants to work with other brands
Nio makes no secret of being open to collaborations with other brands. In the longer term, the battery swap scheme has a greater chance of success if other brands join in.
According to Li, a pilot project with other car brands will be underway very soon. He did not want to say what exactly this pilot involves and which company or companies are involved.
Mercedes interested in battery changing system?
Autovisie asked several people at the Nio top what Mercedes boss Ola Källenius came to William Li for. No one knew, but everyone admitted that the conversation was too long for a friendly visit.
Mercedes may be interested in the battery swapping system. It’s fast, reliable, and makes batteries last longer on average because they’re swapped between different users who handle them differently.
EV with removable battery does not age
Also, the exchange system can be a solution to the rapid development of battery and electric car technology. An electric car that comes onto the market now can already be obsolete in five years.
Just look at what happened to the first generation Nissan Leaf and Renault Zoe. They cannot get lost used on the pavers because the range is so limited.
According to Nio, its battery swapping system overcomes this problem. The body of the battery may remain the same, but the technology inside may evolve. For example, a current ET7 can get new and better batteries in the future.