Asian Tech Press (Aug 30) -- Chinese EV manufacturer Nio Inc. (NYSE: NIO) plans to launch its electric cars in Germany next year at the latest, challenging Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, its CEO said recently in a media interview.

"We are very interested in Germany," said William Li, co-founder and CEO of Nio.

"We want to offer our cars to German customers as soon as possible," by the fourth quarter of 2022 at the latest, added Li.

Li said Nio sees the German luxury car brand as its main rivals in the short term, but that Apple will eventually become a rival.

Nio, currently valued at $62 billion, higher than BMW, plans to start delivering electric cars in Norway in September, the first step in the company's European expansion.

"We're gearing up to enter the whole European market," Li said.