Marc Samuel is the new national fleet sales manager for NIO in the U.K.

Samuel joins the new Chinese entrant from the AA, a national breakdown and motoring services company, where he was head of SME & B2B telesales.

Other experience includes leasing company Pendragon Vehicle Management and the fleet and business team of Honda.

The appointment was announced by Samuel himself on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network. Managing director, Matt Galvin, commented that fleet sales “will form a key part of what we do,” describing the role as “pivotal”.

NIO is planning to launch in the U.K. by the end of 2023, although there has been no announcement of which models will lead the push into the U.K .market.

The brand initially launched in Norway (2021), before expanding into Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden in fall 2022.

The company operates a novel battery-swapping station, whereby drivers swap their depleted batteries for a new one. NIO calls it BaaS (or Battery-as-a-Service). The operation can be completed in under five minutes at a battery swap station. NIO U.K. executives are already searching for land on which to build these stations.

It is also focusing on the small and medium sized enterprise sector with its direct-to-market subscription approach.

At the Shanghai Auto Show (April 18-27), NIO unveiled its latest model, the updated ES6 SUV.