- Nio partners with a local distributor to offer vehicles under its main brand and sub-brand Onvo in Uzbekistan.
- Nio exported a record 750 vehicles in December, marking a 79.00% increase from November.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) has entered the Uzbekistan market, beginning its exploration of the Central Asian market as it continues to expand its overseas presence.
Nio Space Tashkent has opened, marking the company's official entry into the Central Asian nation's automotive market, according to information shared by Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, in his WeChat status on Sunday.
Qin did not provide further details, but images he shared indicate the store opened on January 31. Uzbekistan becomes Nio's first Central Asian market.
Nio announced its plans to enter the Uzbekistan market in August 2025, stating at the time it would partner with Abu Sahiy Motors.
Abu Sahiy is a leading Uzbek domestic group with extensive influence in logistics, real estate, and automotive sales and services.
Nio would offer its main brand models ES8, ES6, ET5, ET5 Touring, and the L60 from its sub-brand Onvo in Uzbekistan, as said last August.
The ES8 and ES6 were renamed EL8 and EL6 respectively for overseas markets due to trademark disputes with Audi.
This marks Nio's third major overseas market move within the past month.
The company debuted its Firefly EV under the Firefly sub-brand at the Singapore Motorshow 2026 on January 8, marking the official entry of its first right-hand-drive model into overseas markets.
On January 22, Nio opened its first dealership in Hungary, where local partner AutoWallis will handle sales and service for Nio and Firefly models in the European country.
In its initial overseas expansion efforts, Nio aimed to replicate its direct-sales approach from China abroad, but this proved highly challenging.
Over the past two years, the company has shifted toward a more asset-light model relying on national distributors, with the overall strategy being to appoint one general distributor per country.
Nio exported 750 vehicles in December, a 79.00% increase from November's 419 units, according to data released by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). This represents the highest figure recorded in CPCA's published data.
