THE SHIFT EAST

Once an auto underdog, China's electricvehicle boom now powers its tech rise

- BY CHARLIE CAMPBELL/ SHANGHAI AND HEFEI

PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN FRAYER

AT NIO’S DESIGN WORKSHOP IN SUBURBAN SHANGHAI, ENGINEERS spread billets of clay onto an aluminum frame of a basic car. A robotic arm with a mechanized drill bit then carves a series of grooves into the clay corresponding to a designer's sketch. The rough surface is then painstakingly smoothed with palette knives before aluminum foil is pasted on top. Finally, the sleek-looking metallic model is rolled into a sunlit courtyard where every curve and camber is scrutinized.

“The artistry really happens with these guys putting color on, taking it off; putting more clay on, taking it off,” says Colin Phipps, senior director of NIO Shanghai Design, who previously worked 12 years for Cadillac. “This is a very labor-intensive process.”

It’s also an incongruously artisanal first step of a design methodology that is otherwise steeped in pushing technological boundaries. Since its founding in 2014, NIO has notched 9,800 global patents, most impressively popularizing battery-swapping technology that allows customers to change their drained battery for a fully charged one in just three minutes at over 3,000 swap stations across China and Europe.