The head of Chinese electric carmaker Nio has warned that Europe’s energy crisis is slowing its expansion in a region where it is aiming to take on dominant players such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. William Li, the group’s founder and chief executive, said that soaring energy costs are one impediment to the company’s rollout of battery swapping stations across Europe.
In contrast to rival carmakers that rely on recharging their batteries, Nio uses a system of swap stations in which batteries are removed and replaced with new ones in a process that takes just minutes.
“Right now we are behind the schedule regarding the swap station installation, but that is driven by multiple reasons and the electricity cost is one part,” Li said in an interview. Slower-than-expected planning approvals and the need to train workers were also hindering the rollout, he added.