NIO, the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), has opened a new R&D facility in Witney, Oxfordshire, UK, which brings together the 40+ staff and wide range of equipment from its former UK engineering facilities at Begbroke Science Park and Bicester Motion into a single 9,460 sq ft (880 m2) facility.
The new R&D centre, opened as NIO celebrates 10 years of engineering innovation in the UK, has more space to accommodate future vehicle development work, and comprises facilities including a dedicated computer aided engineering (CAE) workspace and a vehicle laboratory.
The team can use the facility to work on activities including computational fluid dynamics (CFD), simulation, safety, Euro NCAP safety assessments, durability, handling, and Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) tuning.
Danilo Teobaldi, NIO’s principal chief engineer, said at the official opening of the new facility: “Bringing our virtual and physical UK engineering teams together in Witney will accelerate the development of innovations that improve the user experience.
“With new facilities, we can ensure NIO’s UK-based team continues to pioneer in areas such as class-leading Euro NCAP results for all three group brands, along with smart chassis system solutions for our global platforms.”
NIO marks 10 years of UK R&D
NIO opened its first global R&D centre for performance and advanced concept engineering in Oxfordshire, UK, in 2016 – two years after the company was established. The centre has since supported all of NIO’s global vehicle development programmes, from the EP9 electric supercar launched in 2016, to the NIO ET9, its flagship EV.
The engineering team in the UK have also worked on the development of NIO’s third brand, Firefly, and its first compact EV.
