Benzinga | Jul 7, 2021 11:02PM EDT

Nio's Next Move In Europe Could Be Battling Tesla In Crucial Market Germany, Indicates Job Post

r Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) is scouting for a General Manager to head its business development in Germany, according to a job posting on Microsoft Corp-owned (NASDAQ:MSFT) professional networking site LinkedIn.

What Happened: The move is being seen as Nio looking to ramp up its expansion plans in Europe beyond Norway, where it is scheduled to start selling the electric seven-seater sports utility vehicle ES8 beginning September.

The Shanghai-headquartered electric vehicle maker's LinkedIn post reveals it is looking for a candidate who can "define and be in charge for execution of the German market strategy" besides other skills.

The post has secured 174 applications since it went live earlier this week.

China EV news portal cnEVPost first reported the development.

Norway, the most EV-friendly country, is being seen as the gateway for Nio to expand into other countries in Europe. Nio recently said the EWVTA certification "marks an essential foundation for NIO's entry into Norway and the European market at large."

Why It Matters: Europe will be a testing ground not just for Nio but also for Chinese EV rivals like BYD Co (OTC:BYDDY) (OTC:BYDDF), Xpeng Inc (XPEV: NYSE), which also have their eyes on the region.

See Also: As Hip EV Startups Tesla, Nio Struggled, Legacy Automakers Ford, GM Gave Stellar Returns In 2021 First-Half

Germany is also home to Volkswagen AG (OTC:VWAGY) and rival legacy player Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft (OTC:BMWY), who are setting tighter timelines for a complete switch to an electric vehicle portfolio.

Elon Musk-led Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), already has a presence in Germany and the electric automaker has seen a boost in sales ahead of its $7 billion gigafactory outside Berlin getting into production.

Volkswagen earlier this year said it expects fully electric vehicles to account for more than 70% of total European vehicle sales by 2030, compared with a previous target of 35%. BMW is targeting 90% of its market categories to be fully-electric models by 2023.

Price Action: Nio shares closed 8.45% to $46.04 on Wednesday.

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Photo: Courtesy of Nio