CHINESE electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc. has launched its first overseas store in Norway and plans to start selling cars in the country as it pushes to expand globally.

Nio, which makes electric sport-utility vehicles in China’s eastern city of Hefei, is employing more than 9,000 staff globally, said CEO William Li.

The company, backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent, has delivered over 100,000 cars since it was set up in 2014, almost all of them in China.

The automaker’s chief in Norway, Marius Hayler, said at an online event Thursday that Nio was building its first showroom outside China in Norway’s capital city Oslo.

It aims to open the first showroom in September. Nio will open stores in four other Norway cities in 2022, Hayler said.

Nio will sell ES8 sport-utility vehicles and ET7 sedans in Norway, and will open charging stations and battery swapping stations, Hayler said.

Norway is boosting sales of electric vehicles, which represent over half of the country’s all new cars sales.

China’s EV makers have been looking to push up exports in line with the government’s ambition to build a world-class auto industry and to compete with traditional auto firms.

Nio’s rivals Xpeng Inc. and BYD Co. already sell electric cars in Europe.

Nio’s co-founder and president, Qin Lihong, said at the Shanghai Auto Show last month that Nio would build a user community in foreign markets as it does in China when it sells cars globally.

The company will adjust to local environments by hiring local staff and learn local culture, Qin said.

Nio is valued at US$61.8 billion based on its New York stock listing, just below Germany’s BMW.

Last year, Nio’s CEO Li said the firm aimed to enter more markets from 2022. The company is also researching entering the United States, the world’s No.2 auto market after China, Nio executivs have said. (SD-Agencies)