Nio's global business veteran Chen Chen heads a new tier-1 division and will personally oversee the Middle East business.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) has reportedly overhauled its global business, creating eight new divisions and putting a veteran of overseas operations in charge of the Middle East business.
The Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker recently made its latest round of organizational changes and appointments to its global business, creating a new first-tier division called “Global Business Development” (GB) to handle multi-brand and multi-region business development, according to a report in local media outlet 21jingji today.
Chen Chen, a veteran of the company's global business, is the head of the new unit, reporting to Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong, according to the report.
With the latest restructuring, Nio has eight new second-tier divisions covering six regions:
Middle East and North Africa Business Development (MBD).
Asia Business Development (ABD).
Latin America and Oceania Business Development (LOD).
Western Europe Business Development (WED).
Southern Europe Business Development (SED).
Central & Eastern Europe and Northern Europe Business Development (CND).
Global Strategy and Planning (GSP).
Global Operations Support Center (GOC).
The heads of these second-tier divisions will continue to hold their current positions in European Business Development (EB) or Nio Power Europe (PU) until the new organizational structure of the latter two divisions is completed, according to the report.
Chen, who will be personally responsible for the Middle East business, is a Nio veteran who was previously in charge of the company's sales operations, according to 21jingji.
In 2020, Nio launched Project Marco Polo, an internal project for entering Europe, and Chen was the head, the report noted.
The Middle East is one of the preferred destinations for a number of new Chinese car makers to enter overseas markets, with players including Aiways, Neta, Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), and Zeekr (NYSE: ZK) entering into partnerships with local dealers from 2020 onwards, the report said.
Nio's ties to the Middle East run deeper, with Abu Dhabi investing in the company twice, in June and December last year, for a total of $3.3 billion, the report noted, adding that Nio's presence in the Middle East is something to look forward to against the backdrop of the partnership.
Nio last restructured its global operations in June 2022, when it renamed its first-tier division “Global Business Development” to “European Business Development,” which was still headed by Chen.
It also created two new second-tier divisions under the department -- the European User Operations Department and the European User Development Department, according to 21jingji.
The Chinese EV maker's idea at the time was to focus its resources on expanding into the European market.
In this latest reorganization, Nio is refocusing on the broader global market, and is about to start exploring other markets, the report said.
Nio will begin offering products and services in the UAE later this year, with related preparations underway, William Li, the company's founder, chairman, and CEO, said on a June 6 earnings call.
After Abu Dhabi government investment fund CYVN Holdings invested in Nio, expanding its global business presence to the Middle East this year could be a consensus between the two, 21jingji said, citing a person close to Nio.
In the Middle East, Nio will opt for a lighter, more unique approach, the person said, without elaborating.
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