Nio, listed on NYSE as NIO, has revised and expedited its goals for the coverage of urban roads by its Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) software, NOP+ (Navigate on Pilot Plus). Originally announced in September, the company now aims to complete the validation of 250,000 kilometers of NOP+ urban pilot routes across 200 cities by the end of this year, more than quadrupling its initial target.
Ren Shaoqing, Nio’s Vice President of Intelligent Driving Research and Development, expressed confidence in achieving this milestone during an announcement today. Additionally, by the second quarter of 2024, Nio plans to validate 400,000 kilometers of NOP+ urban pilot routes across more than 230 cities, covering 96 percent of Nio users’ resident cities.
The latest target represents a substantial expansion, exceeding the initial plan by more than four times. Ren emphasized the strategic focus on road mileage over city coverage, distinguishing Nio’s approach from its peers such as Xpeng and Li Auto.
Nio introduced the ability for users to submit wish lists in late September, enabling the prioritization of routes for pilot-assisted driving services. The NAD Lane 2.0, part of Nio’s next-generation static-aware network, eliminates the reliance on high-definition maps by sensing intersection information in real-time.
Ren provided specific progress updates on NOP+ urban area pilot routes:
- As of June 30, Nio completed the validation of 807 kilometers of urban pilot routes in Shanghai.
- By September 27, cumulative routes validated in Shanghai and Beijing reached 6,457 kilometers.
- As of November 19, Nio completed validation of a total of 34,477 km of routes in 17 cities.
- By November 29, validation extended to 124,343 km of routes in 75 cities.
- As of December 12, a total of 195,270 kilometers of routes have been validated in 134 cities.
Ren attributed this progress to the hyperscale distributed computing power of smart hardware based on the NT 2.0 platform, enhancing NOP+ road coverage in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and expanding to underdeveloped counties and townships. Nio plans to deploy the Banyan 2.3.0 system to all eligible vehicles in China, providing a comprehensive piloting experience on highways, urban roads, and between battery swap stations.”
editor