NIO's first European substation was launched, with a planned 20-seat layout by the end of the year

IT House reported on January 20 that WEILAI opened its first substation in Norway, and the company plans to open 20 substations in Norway in 2022.

The substation, which officially opened this month, is located a few kilometres north of the southeastern Norwegian city of Drammen. Since November 2021, NIO has been preparing for the opening of this substation. This is a NIO 2.0 substation with 14 battery slots, including 13 battery packs and 1 empty slot, for placing the removed batteries, compared to the company's first generation of substations with only 5 battery packs. The substation will support the ES8 models currently being sold in Norway, and other models of the brand that support the replacement system will also be able to use its substation in the future.

To date, NIO has built more than 700 substations in China, and the company aims to build 4,000 substations by the end of 2025, of which 1,000 will be overseas.

IT Home learned that as the country with the highest proportion of electric vehicles in Europe, Norway is also the first country for many domestic car companies such as Weilai to enter the European market. Previously, it was reported that the registration of WEILAI ES8 in Norway has exceeded 200 vehicles, most of which are car owners who choose the rental package rather than the full price purchase, and the use of the replacement power station will also greatly facilitate the use of cars by this part of the Norwegian Weilai users.