The electric car brand NIO is busy laying the foundations for when it begins importing its EVs into the UK from China, although it's not yet ready to declare precisely when that will be.

However it is setting up its national sales company at offices in Milton Keynes, and it has already appointed 16 senior staff, who report to NIO UK managing director Matt Galvin, who is also Nio Europe head of sales.

AM's editor Tim Rose joined Galvin and other executives from the company at the European launch of its EL6 electric SUV in Germany, where NIO has been selling cars for about a year, and learned that NIO will not diverge from the brand's business model of direct-to-consumer sales through online and company-owned locations, known as a 'NIO House' and a 'NIO Space' when it finally launches in the UK, which could be late next year in line with the carmaker's 25 by 2025 international rollout plan.

It gave UK motoring enthusiasts a glimpse of the ET5 saloon this summer at Goodwood Festival of Speed, and the launch team in the UK already includes heads of marketing and communications, HR, finance, sales, fleet and aftersales/service operations plus a network rollout manager.

Although NIO customers will mostly charge at home or work, AM understands that some planning proposals are already under way in the UK for Nio's Power Swap Stations (PSS), properties little bigger than a shipping container where a Nio EV's depleted battery can be swapped automatically for a fully charged one in less than five minutes to help drivers on long distance journeys to extend their range. The PSS sites (pictured above) also have rapid chargers for all EVs to use.