NIO Launches Smart Driving Technology Center in Germany

The Chinese smart electric vehicle manufacturer NIO has opened its Smart Driving Technology Center in Schönefeld, Germany, its first outside of China. 

NIO was founded in 2014 and is known for developing battery swapping technology, which earned the company a spot in our Top 10: EV Tech Companies. 

Smart driving technology at NIO

Based in greater Berlin, NIO’s Smart Driving Technology Center is close to NIO’s Berlin Innovation Center, which opened in 2023. These two factories will work together to further advance NIO's technology, specifically for use in the European electric vehicle market. Berlin, known as the capital of start-ups and technology, was chosen as the place to lead NIO's development of Smart Driving solutions to benefit drivers across Europe.

Hui Zhang, Group Vice President at NIO, said that unveiling the European Smart Driving Technology Center in Berlin marked a pivotal moment in NIO's journey as a premium global brand.

"Smart Driving technologies epitomise our essence as a forward-thinking smart EV company,” said Zhang. “Through NIO’s resilience and innovative spirit, we are poised to explore the big potential to complete our global development network and to provide tailor-made user-favourable tech-solutions from Europe for Europe.” 

The Smart Driving Technology Center team will develop all vehicle-specific systems in Schönefeld, with a focus on the local user needs. Mirko Reuter, NIO’s Senior Director AD, has hailed the centre for its combination of automotive and software competences. 

“The infrastructure of Brandenburg has enabled the Smart Driving Technology Center to become NIO’s future hub for all smart and digital development in Europe,” he said.

NIO integrates GPT technology into NOMI with Microsoft Azure

NIO has also announced the integration of GPT technology to NOMI with Microsoft Azure, across its EV range. The rollout will be delivered with firmware over-the-air update capabilities. 

NIO’s digital assistant NOMI uses AI to give drivers clearer engagement with the car on their journey. For example, in offering more accurate journey updates to drivers while they are on the road. This makes NOMI the world’s first in-vehicle AI system to use GPT technology across its entire range.

“NOMI firmly established itself as an intuitive and fun way to interact with our smart EVs from launch,” says Benjamin Steinmetz, Product Experience Director Europe, NIO. “Enhanced with the GPT functionality, via Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, NOMI is now able to generate more relevant responses and address more complex queries — making journeys more valuable and joyful for users. This integration is just a start, which will help NOMI scale faster, offering new exciting features with each release.”

******

Make sure you check out the latest edition of EV Magazine and also sign up to our global conference series - Sustainability LIVE 2024.

*******************

EV is a BizClik brand.