Berlin innovation center will help Nio's electric vehicles get smarter in Europe and worldwide, the company said.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) has opened an innovation center in Berlin, Germany, as the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company ramps up its European presence.

The innovation center, which officially opened on July 4, is located at Rotherstraβe 19, 10245 Berlin and covers 1,500 square meters, according to an announcement posted yesterday on Nio's mobile app for Europe.

This is the first Nio R&D center in Europe, and five different teams will work on software development for Nio products and technologies from now on, according to the announcement. The company has a global design center in Munich.

The innovation center is also responsible for localization and software testing, with focus areas including autonomous driving, digital systems, digital architecture, digital cockpit, user experience, user interface and in-car voice assistance system NOMI, according to Nio's announcement.

The new innovation center in Berlin complements existing software development centers in Beijing and San Jose, where Nio has developed about 50 percent of its software.

The innovation center's development team consists of more than 25 employees from 11 different countries, Nio said. Late last month, the company said Nio employs more than 1,300 people in Europe, most of them located in Germany.

The innovation center in Berlin will also serve as a research and development center for Nio Power and as an operations control center for all European battery swap stations, Nio said.

Nio is bringing its entire service system from China to Europe, including the iconic battery swap stations. As of June 30, Nio had 18 battery swap stations in Europe.

On September 16, 2022, Nio announced that its Nio Power Europe Plant in Budapest, Hungary, saw the first battery swap station roll off the assembly line.

The Berlin innovation center location was specifically chosen to attract Europe's top talent in software development, machine learning, artificial intelligence and voice systems.

With Nio's smart technology and the Berlin innovation center, the company's EVs will become smarter not only in Europe, but also worldwide, said Zhang Hui, vice president of Nio Europe.

Users can give feedback to NOMI directly from inside the vehicle, and the Berlin innovation center will help better respond to the desires of German and European customers, Nio's announcement said.

Nio is strengthening its partnerships with local suppliers to deliver better infotainment systems.

In the video-on-demand space, Nio has expanded its partnerships with companies such as Spotify, Nvidia, Bosch and Qualcomm. With a software over-the-air update, Nio now welcomes ScreenHits as a video-on-demand technology for European users, it said.

ScreenHits TV, a UK-based streaming provider, gives users in Europe access to video-on-demand content in 59 countries and 30 languages, according to Nio.

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