NIO Incorporated, an emerging electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, intends to sell its China-made electric cars in the United States by 2025, the brand’s US CEO Ganesh Iyer revealed while emphasizing the need for collaboration with various stakeholders to achieve this goal. CEO Iyer shared the Chinese brand’s vision at the recently-held NextChina Conference, where he also expressed a strong commitment to making NIO vehicles more affordable to make them accessible to the masses.

However, Iyer added that collaboration with various stakeholders, including government, policymakers, supply chain partners, and infrastructure developers, was essential to expedite this transition and make NIO vehicles a reality for personal buyers in the U.S. in the near future.

Making the revelation at the NextChina Conference, the top executive said, “My goal, and my commitment to this company, is I want all of us to buy a Nio car from our personal paycheck one day. I hope that ‘one day’ will be sooner, which means we need help from everyone — government, policymakers, supply ecosystem [and] infrastructure readiness.”

NIO’s gearing up for a mid-decade entry into the highly-competitive U.S. EV market is part of the brand’s larger plan to expand its global presence to as many as 25 countries and regions. The aforementioned announcement by Iyer follows the recent delivery of the brand’s inaugural EL6 electric model in Europe. In spite of an impressive third-quarter (Q3) record of selling 55,432 EVs, the brand has remained grappled with financial losses throughout the year, which has forced the company to take some tough decisions.

The ongoing EV price war, especially in China, has put an unprecedented pressured on NIO to trim down prices of its vehicles to remain competitive. The high price point of NIO's vehicles may pose a tough challenge in the U.S. market, especially with Tesla's hostile pricing strategies driving other automakers to follow suit. In a recent internal memo, NIO CEO William Li stated that the company would cut approximately 10 per cent of its workforce as an obligatory step to stay competitive in the challenging global landscape of EVs.

Additionally, NIO faces a disadvantage in the U.S. market due to the $7,500 tax credit that is available only to domestically produced EVs with domestic batteries, for which NIO's EVs don’t currently qualify. Nevertheless, NIO has refused to compromise on quality for price competitiveness, while also remaining committed to its vision of selling affordable EVs in the U.S. market.