When prompted to write about up-and-coming businesses, Blogger Evan Spry took his focus global and chose to write about an up-and-coming Chinese electric vehicle company: NIO. Watch out Tesla.
By Evan Spry
Blue Sky Coming
One of the most recognizable names of our contemporary history is Elon Musk. Musk took the world by storm with his groundbreaking technological feats and his popular electric car brand, Tesla. But, what if I told you that Tesla will soon no longer be the only synonym that comes to mind when someone mentions high-quality electric cars? China, the largest automobile market in the world (according to statista.com), constantly is looking for new ways to improve the automobile industry within its borders. Unfortunately, China is also high on the list of most polluted countries in the world, which motivates Chinese manufactures, politicians, and entrepreneurs to find cleaner solutions to automobile emissions. One of these cleaner solutions lies in electric cars.
In November 2014, NIO, a Chinese car manufacturer was created. NIO was founded on the idea of turning the sky blue wherever they went. The company’s Chinese name, Weilai, literally means “Blue Sky Coming.” But, what are they actually doing? And, how do they differentiate themselves from Tesla? Well, since NIO is such a young company, they were able to start with the idea of moving quickly to autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars. In fact, in 2016, NIO received an “Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit” from the California DMV and immediately began testing on public roads under the “Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program.”
Battery Swapping
Unlike Tesla, NIO has established a battery swapping station network that stretches over thousands of kilometers of Chinese expressways. This method is much more efficient because battery swapping only takes, on average, five minutes, while filling up your gas tank or recharging your battery takes much longer. Battery swapping has proven effective in China. Globalnewswire.com says, “As of August 2020, NIO has built 143 battery swap stations across 64 cities in China, and completed over 800,000 battery swaps for its customers.”
World Records
Sitting atop Purog Kangri glacier, the NIO ES8 broke a world record for successfully getting to and remaining at 5,715.28 feet above sea level while being in a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius. This would be the highest altitude ever achieved by an electric car. Purog glacier is the third largest glacier in the world, making this also the only time an electric car has ever been there. Unsurprisingly, this is not the only record NIO has broken. In the Nurburgring, a German motorsports complex that hosts events, the NIO EP9 only took 6 mins and 45 secs to run a track of 22 kilometers (13 miles). This was the new lap record and very important for electric automobile development.
Invest!
Not only is this car company blowing its competitors out of the water but its stock shares have also been going through the roof. In 2020, NIO’s stock rose over 1,190%, according to investorplace.com. Currently, each share of stock costs 59.99 USD, and it looks like it’s only going up. Yahoo!Finance surveyed 300 investors, and they concluded that NIO shares would rise to 100 USD by 2022.
In conclusion, NIO is an up-and-coming Chinese company that everybody should know about and keep their eye on. NIO’s ingenuity has caused it to become a big competitor of Tesla’s, and who knows what could happen if they really pick up in the West. Also, if you are an investor or interested in trading stocks, you might want to check out NIO as they are projected to increase their value a lot in the coming future.*
*All investment strategies and investments involve risk of loss. Nothing contained in this website should be construed as investment advice. Any reference to an investment’s past or potential performance is not, and should not be construed as, a recommendation or as a guarantee of any specific outcome or profit.–Editor Jake
Up-and-Coming Businesses Editor: Jake Sonderman
World record for speed
World record for height