Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
NIO’s Europe Vice-President was among the keynote speakers at the SMMT Electrified 2022 conference held in London, United Kingdom. Hui Zhang, that works for NIO since January 2016, enhanced the advantages of the Battery-as-a-Service.
Battery-as-a-Service enables separate ownership of an electric vehicle from the battery pack: it means you can swap the battery, but most important is that it’s upgradable.
Hui Zhang, NIO’s Europe Vice-President
The event focus on how industry, stakeholders and government can join forces to accelerate the transition to zero emission mobility and counted also with Directors from BMW Group and Volvo as speakers on today’s session. In times that several raw materials used on the manufacturing of electric vehicles are seeing prices hiking, NIO is one of the few automakers that didn’t increase the prices.
With automotive spearheading the charge towards Net Zero, the agenda for the day focused comprise of political and industry keynote sessions, panel discussions exploring progress from the perspective of mass market adoption, luxury and commercial vehicles, whilst investigating policy, infrastructure and energy challenges from national and international viewpoints.
Topics discussed on March 23th
- When will infrastructure no longer be a barrier to EV uptake?
- A holistic approach to a successful zero-emission vehicles transition
- How other markets are embracing the zero-emission transition
- Engineered and built in Britain: Realising the industrial vision in the transition to zero
Hui Zhang joined NIO in January, 2016, as a Managing Director of NIO Performance Engineering, based in Oxford, England. After that, Zhang moved to Germany to work as Managing Director at NIO GmbH*. Previously to NIO, Hui Zhang was the General Manager in China — from 2010 to 2014.
GmbH* is a business extension primarily known for its use in Germany. “The acronym ‘GmbH’ is used to designate certain private entities and is written after a company’s name. The letters stand for Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung which translated literally, means a ‘company with limited liability.'” — Investopedia clarifies.
The SMMT event brings together 300 senior level representatives from automotive, charging infrastructure, battery supply chain, energy, fleets, logistics, government, and consumer groups. Speakers will include senior executives from vehicle manufacturers, policy makers and a host of experts from the automotive and aligned industries.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) exists to support and promote the interests of the UK automotive industry at home and abroad. Working closely with member companies, SMMT acts as the voice of the motor industry, promoting its position to government, stakeholders and the media.
Earlier today, Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao lowered NIO’s price target to $34 from $66 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The new 12-month price target represents a 48% cut from the previous one ($66) posted on December, 2021. The company said that it will report its fourth quarter and full year 2021 unaudited financial results on Thursday, March 24, 2022, after the close of the U.S. markets.
Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu released on Sunday a note lowering NIO’s price target from $70 to $50, maintaining the Buy rating — an upside of 139.7% for the next 12 months. The analyst added that “the main risks for NIO are supply chain constraints and regulatory scrutiny.” Yu also warned on “supplier shortages for chips and battery cells” that can limit NIO’s sales growth.
According to a video posted on TikTok, NIO has thousands of models parked at NIO’s Hefei Factory, in China. The company has been keeping the secrets indoors without unveiling pre-orders numbers, test-drives scheduled, or other relevant numbers and JAC x NIO Factory is not an exception. The EV manufacturer will launch its new five-seater SUV in mid-April and will show it to the public at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show. The international automotive exhibition will take place at the China International Exhibition Center of Beijing from April 21st to April 30th.
NIO announced on March 1st that delivered 6,131 vehicles during last month.February deliveries are often affected by the Chinese Spring Festival Hollidays where the factories usually close from January 31st to February 6th.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com