Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio says it will set up a research and development centre for autonomous driving and artificial intelligence in Singapore. The announcement, made by its chairman and CEO William Li, comes following the company’s debut on the Singapore Exchange, a move that had been indicated earlier this month.
The automaker will collaborate with Singaporean science and research institutions on the new centre, Nikkei Asia reports. According to Li, Nio is looking to leverage Singapore’s advantageous position as an international financial and technology centre, and said that the new hub would broaden and enhance the brand’s global R&D footprint.
The company presently operates an Advanced Research & Innovation Centre in Silicon Valley, California as well as a design office in Munich, Germany. The planned Singapore facility – for which no timeframe for implementation was mentioned – will seek advancements in digital technology, which plays an increasingly important role in competition among automakers, the report said.
The automaker is set to launch three new models this year, hoping to cash in on the potential spike in demand for EVs in the second half of 2022. Its most recent introduction is the ET5, a mid-sized EV sedan that debuted at the end of last year.
Equipped with a dual-motor powertrain consisting of a 150 kW induction front motor and a 210 kW permanent magnet rear motor, the ET5 has a combined output of 480 PS and 700 Nm of torque. The car’s largest battery configuration (150 kWh) provides it with 1,000 km of travel range.
The brand has been aggressively pursuing growth, and in less than four years, has already produced 200,000 EVs. By the end of this year, it will open more than 100 new stores and 50 service centres in China, as well as the expansion of its EV battery swap network. The workforce will be multiplied, and a second manufacturing base located at NeoPark will be up and running in Q3 2022. Outside of China, the brand is expected to enhance its presence in Europe.
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Nio can go Singapore,
Xpeng and BYD can come Malaysia.
Xpeng P5 EV Sedan has Lounge Interior, Cinematic Gaming Screen, Fridge, Custom airbed,
Not just a car, a place can enjoy.
inb4 ‘Singapore dah jual to China’ comments flooding this and their sites and socmeds.
aiks…why not come to Malaysia? Not trust the goverment policy here?? keke… understand
When Geely first came here, so many negative perception and comments from Malaysians that future Chinese brands became scared to come here and went to other countries instead. They trust the government alrite, they just don’t trust the rakyat who were critical of them. So ini semua salah critical rakyats.
I wonder y not here?
Porsche also chosen Malaysia for CKD Hub,
1st Porsche Hub outside Germany.
https://paultan.org/2021/08/30/porsche-confirms-ckd-operations-in-malaysia-from-2022/
RM$ very cheap,
Talents very cheap, T20 also very low salary,
CKD exports here also cheaper, more profits.
Possibly our Chinese education learned the ‘wrong Chinese’ so they are afraid we might have a lot of misunderstanding if they come here. FYI our Chinese is based of Taiwan version, significantly different than Mainland Chinese. SG, by virtue of their high amount of Chinese expats learned ‘China Chinese’ so communication between both is spotless.
do they know that singapore is anti car?
I prefer to buy nio in Malaysia