Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Nio’s co-founder and president, Lihong Qin, revealed Thursday that the electric vehicle manufacturer is gearing up to enter the Azerbaijani market. The locations for its first showroom, known as Nio House, and its inaugural battery swap station will be situated in the main commercial area of Baku, the country’s capital.
In a new video shared on Friday, the executive also revealed that Nio has partnered with the local firm GreenCar, which will handle vehicle sales and service in the market. Deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2025.
“Together with our local partner, GreenCar, we finalized the locations for the battery swap station and Nio House. As a key transportation hub along the Belt and Road Initiative, I believe Baku’s battery swap station will become a crucial energy replenishment point in the future,” the executive wrote on social media.
In the video published this Friday, Lihong Qin visited the upcoming showroom and the location of the first battery swap station in the country.
“This is the site selected by our partners for the future Nio House. Earlier, the general manager of our partner told me they plan to hang the Nio logo here. When the logo is up, I believe many people visiting Baku will remember the Nio brand,” Lihong Qin stated before entering the showroom.
“This is the interior of the planned Nio House, currently a café in front of an art gallery. I think transforming this space will be quite straightforward, as it already aligns well with Nio’s aesthetic. We can retain most of the existing elements, like the flooring, which perfectly matches Nio’s design philosophy,” he added.
Below is the video shared by Nio’s executive on Friday.
“Behind our Nio House is the charging station and battery swap station. Nearby is Azerbaijan’s most famous Heydar Aliyev Museum, located in the city center. Both our partners and we are very pleased with this site selection,” Lihong Qin noted.
Nio’s co-founded added that a Nio Center is planned to open in March-April of 2025.
“If things go smoothly, a new Nio Center could open here by March or April next year. We warmly welcome our friends from China to visit Azerbaijan and stop by our Nio House in Baku during their travels,” he added.
The expansion follows Nio‘s recent entry into the Israeli market, where it began selling part of its lineup through local partner Delek Motors. The Shanghai-headquartered EV maker is expected to announce its sales and service partner for Azerbaijan in the coming weeks.
Earlier this week, the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change started in Baku with Nio as the automotive partner. The company has been providing mobility services for heads of state, government officials, and other dignitaries, using its EL8, ET7, and EL6 models as official reception vehicles.
The EV maker has recently launched in Israel through a partnership with Delek Motors, one of the country’s largest vehicle distributors.
In September, Delek Motors, which was appointed to establish a dedicated sales team for Nio in the country, began hiring a store manager for the first Nio showroom.
The first store, or Nio House as they are known, is located in Herzliya, a city within the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, and opened its doors last week showcasing five models from the Nio brand.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
