Nio says it has had a software development team in San Jose, US, since its inception and that the recent job postings are normal hiring practices.
(Nio ET5. Image credit: CnEVPost)
Nio's latest job postings in the US for positions related to its replenishment facility infrastructure program have raised many expectations that the company is preparing to enter the US market. Now, the company has responded to this.
"We have had a software development team in San Jose, USA since the inception of our company, and the recent job postings are normal hiring practices," Nio said.
Nio has previously been hiring for software development-related positions in San Jose, California, but on Thursday the company posted three positions on LinkedIn related to its local infrastructure plans, the first of their kind.
This is seen as a sign that Nio is preparing to enter the US market as the company sets to further increase its international presence.
Nio has already entered the Norwegian market this year, the first stop in its international expansion.
At the Nio Day 2021 event on December 18, William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio, announced the company's plans for global expansion, saying that Nio will enter Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark next year.
Nio's goal is to serve users in more than 25 countries and regions worldwide by 2025, Li said.
Li did not announce at the time which of those 25 countries would be included, though local media later reported that it would include core global automotive markets including the United States, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Judging from its current efforts to enter the Norwegian market, Nio appears to be sticking with the same strategy it used in China, which is to offer its suite of services to local customers.
In a conference call after announcing third-quarter earnings on November 10, Li said Nio's deliveries in Norway were not high, not because of a lack of orders, but because the company was controlling the pace.
Nio hopes to actively drive sales after the after-sales service system in Norway is established, Li said at the time.
In an interview with English-language media, including CnEVPost, on December 19, Li made comments that revealed a similar logic about what Nio will do when it enters other markets.
He said that if Nio wants to enter a new market, it will consider in advance how to ensure a good user experience, which is a very basic starting point.
"If we think we can't do it, we'd rather not enter this market, or if we can't do it in the short term we'd rather wait a little bit," Li said.
The implication behind these thoughts is that before Nio enters a new market, we will probably see it doing work related to infrastructure building first.
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