It started as a vision and became an impressive international startup story. Before the story, it was only a few people talking to each other and exchanging ideas. In 2014, it was decided that the NIO design center should be established in Munich. The first job interviews in 2015 were conducted in the famous Café Reitschule in Munich. The office in Munich/Bogenhausen didn’t exist yet. The design headquarters was established on June 1, 2015.

Speed became the hallmark of further development of NIO in Munich. Speed is something that is crucial and ubiquitous in the automotive industry. It was and still is a vital part of us at NIO. The team grew very fast during the following years and occupied the building floor by floor, the brand evolved, and created by our designers’ product by product. 

Our designers began their journey with EVE  and the EP9 to show the world what a young and enthusiastic team can do in a very short amount of time. In 2018 we welcomed a big milestone, the first series-production model ES8. It was designed in Munich and hit the ground running in China. The team in Munich achieved the design behind NIO’s vision of placing a BEV on the road and realizing the first of many steps toward our founder, William Li’s vision of “Blue Sky Coming.” 

NIO’s story, like every heroic tale, has had its ups and downs. Until 2019, the team at NIO in Munich had experienced almost only ups. Along with our colleagues in Shanghai, we’ve steered the company through its first-ever auto recall, budgetary concerns, layoffs, and COVID-19. 

We have exciting projects in the pipeline, working on overseas market entry, and teams are growing again. NIO is more mature, having seen tougher times, but at the same time doesn’t lose its startup spirit. The world started looking at NIO five years ago, and now it eagerly awaits what we will bring up next.