NIO (car company)

NIO Pilot is the company's SAE level 2 semi-autonomous system that offers ADAS features. It launched with the introduction of NIO's ES8 model. Several over the air updates throughout 2018 and 2019 has enhanced NIO Pilot with features such as lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, highway pilot (NIO Navigate on Pilot, NNOP), traffic Jam assistance, auto lane change and more.[16]

NIO Pilot sensor suite consists of a trifocal forward camera, 5 radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a driver monitor camera.[17] NIO was the first automaker to launch a car model utilizing Mobileye's EyeQ4 vision chip.[18]

In November 2019, NIO announced a partnership with Mobileye to develop a consumer car equipped with Mobileye's complete Level 4 self-driving system called Aquila that could be sold to consumers by 2022.[19]

NIO Life is the company's clothing collection, made in collaboration with Hussein Chalayan.[20]

NIO Service is the company's network of service centers.[21]

NIO Power is the company's network of battery swap stations, power mobile, power home and super chargers. NIO has 122 Swap Stations around China, including 18 battery swap stations along the G4 Expressway in China.[22]

NOMI, an artificial-intelligence technology, is one of the first in-car AI systems in production vehicles. NOMI can access navigation, control music, adjust cabin temperature, open or close windows, and take a selfie of cabin passengers.[34][35] localization is underway as overseas service deployed.[36]

NIO have been participating in the ABB FIA Formula E since 2014, the inaugural season.

The NIO team is one of the original Formula E teams, originally competing under the name Team China Racing. Before the first season was completed, they rebranded as NEXTEV TCR. In this inaugural season, their main driver Nelson Piquet Jr became the FIA Formula E Driver's Champion, after winning two races in Long Beach and Moscow. The team was only able to achieve fourth in the constructor's championship though, in part due to a rotating line-up of second drivers that didn't achieve as consistent level of success as Piquet.

From season 2 onwards, Formula E opened up car development, with teams creating their own powertrains. NIO used their own design NEXTEV powertrain, but it saw a downturn in the team's performance for the constructor's championship, as they finished only 9th in season 2, 6th in season 3 and 8th in season 4. By this point, the team had morphed through NEXTEV, NEXTEV NIO until renamed simply NIO. Season 5 would see the team's meagre successes diminish further, as they languished 11th and last in the championship.

For season 6 (2019–20) the team was sold on to Lisheng Racing and renamed NIO 333 Racing. For the first time since season 1, NIO did not provide their own powertrain for the car, instead using the previous year's Dragon powertrain. It was rebranded under NIO's name and they remained classified as a manufacturer. This didn't change the team's fortunes, as they would go on to have their worst ever season, with neither Oliver Turvey nor Ma Qinghua being able to score any points in 2020. In season seven NIO improved marginally, as whilst Turvey and new arrival Tom Blomqvist amassed a total of 19 points throughout the campaign, the squad still remained in last place.

NIO once again changed their driver line-up for the 2021–22 Formula E season, as Blomqvist made way for former Red Bull and Williams juNIOr Dan Ticktum.

NIO set five records in their track-only EP9 for the fastest lap for an electric-powered car in the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Circuit Paul Ricard, Circuit of the Americas, and Shanghai International Circuit tracks.[37]

In 2018, while NIO was preparing for an IPO, the company told investors that they were building a new factory in Shanghai.[38] Then in March 2019, NIO disclosed that the factory would never be built. According to former employees, construction had never started. Investors sued and accused NIO's promoters, which included Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, of negligence in examining NIO's financial statements.

In August 2021, Lin Wenqin, a 31-year-old Chinese man, was killed after his NIO ES8 collided with a construction vehicle.[39] NIO's self-driving feature is still in beta and cannot yet deal with static obstacles.[40] Though the vehicle's manual clearly states that the driver must take over when nearing construction sites, the issue is whether the feature was improperly marketed and unsafe. Lawyers of the deceased's family have also called into question NIO's private access to the vehicle, which they argue may lead to the data ending up forged.[41]