On November 16th, at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement with its partner Green Car, announcing that it will officially start business in Azerbaijan and provide intelligent electric vehicle products and services to local users. Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to COP29 and Deputy Minister of Ecology and Environment, Elnur Soltanov, CEO of COP29 and Deputy Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan, Umayra Tagiyeva, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan, Narmin Jarchalova, COO of COP29, Qin Lihong, co-founder and CEO of NIO, Rustam Ibrahimov, COO of Green Car, and others attended the event.
According to the agreement, Green Car will become NIO's national distributor in Azerbaijan, serving local users through direct sales. Under the guidance of NIO's full system standards, Green Car will operate locally around products, services, and communities, and will be responsible for investing in the construction of NIO's local charging and swapping stations, service centers, NIO centers, and other sales and service networks; NIO will develop and authorize Green Car to use NIO Azerbaijan's official website, mobile applications, and other digital products to ensure consistency in NIO's global user experience.
NIO will officially begin product delivery in Azerbaijan in the second quarter of 2025, providing NIO's full system services to users in the Caucasus region.
Green Car was founded in 2014 and is a pioneer enterprise in Azerbaijan's green transportation industry, focusing on promoting and integrating electric vehicles and sustainable transportation solutions, driving new energy infrastructure construction and transportation mode transformation, and promoting a cleaner and more sustainable future.
Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, said, "Azerbaijan is promoting green transformation and sustainable development, and the new energy vehicle industry has broad prospects. NIO is willing to deeply participate in it, contribute to the popularization of new energy vehicles in the local area, and accelerate the process of enterprise globalization. Our partner Green Car deeply cultivates the local market and has abundant resources, which will help us grow our business in Azerbaijan and provide local users with technology and experience leading intelligent electric vehicle products and services
Rustam Ibrahimov, Chief Operating Officer of Green Car, said, "The global automotive industry is undergoing an exciting transformation, and NIO, as a global intelligent electric vehicle company, is impressive in terms of core technology innovation and user experience innovation. Green Car and NIO have a highly aligned sustainable vision and look forward to working together to promote the electrification transformation of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus region
On the day of signing, Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, attended the COP29 Azerbaijan Corner Theme Forum on "Embracing Clear Skies: The Future of Intelligent Electric Vehicles" and delivered a speech introducing NIO's full system innovation and ESG actions around technology, products, services, and communities. As the designated car brand for COP29 VIPs, NIO provides three models including NIO ES8, ET7, and ES6 to this conference, providing commuting services for heads of state and VIPs during the conference.
Since its establishment, NIO has been expanding its global R&D layout and entered the European market in 2021, initiating market globalization. As of November 15, 2024, six mass-produced models including EL8 (ES8 for the Chinese market), ET7, EL7 (ES7 for the Chinese market), ET5, ET5T, and EL6 (ES6 for the Chinese market) have entered the markets of five European countries, including Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark; NIO has deployed 58 battery swapping stations in Europe, connected over 600000 third-party charging stations, and built 8 NIO centers, 10 NIO spaces, and 65 NIO service centers. In October 2024, NIO announced that it will officially expand its business in the Middle East and North Africa region, and plans to enter the UAE market in the fourth quarter of this year.
The signing of the strategic cooperation agreement between NIO and Green Car further expands the company's global footprint. NIO will continue to promote core technology research and innovation, serve users in more countries and regions, support the global vision of sustainable development, and safeguard clear skies.