China Roundup: Tesla rival Nio expands into Norway, and other news

Tesla rival Nio makes Norway debut with flagship SUV

• Carmaker Nio has launched ES8, its flagship sports utility vehicle, in Oslo as part of the company’s plans to expand into Europe.
• Nio also plans to establish its first service and delivery center in Oslo this month. It will also build 20 battery swap stations, which will cover the country’s five biggest cities and major highways, by the end of 2022.
• Other companies that have started selling or plan to sell cars in Europe include Aiways, BYD, SAIC Motor, Dongfeng Motor, and Great Wall Motors.

ByteDance invests in unmanned industrial vehicle firm VisionNav Robotics

• TikTok developer ByteDance has joined the series C funding round of VisionNav Robotics, an unmanned vehicle provider for warehouse and factory operations.
• Investors such as Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, Shunwei Capital, Unicom CICC, IDG Capital, and Eastern Bell Capital also took part in the new financing round. VisionNav Robotics will use the fresh funds will be used to invest in research and development, improve delivery, expand its product team, and launch new unmanned forklift products.
• VisionNav Robotics’ autonomous vehicles include forklifts and tractors, with matching smart systems to run them.

Chinese tech stocks decline amid crackdown on tech giants

• Chinese tech firm stocks fell on Thursday after state media reported that Beijing has increased scrutiny over its video gaming content.
• Additionally, The People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s mouthpiece, also suggested the government deepen its regulation on after-school tutoring firms. This led to a drop in tech stocks including Alibaba Group, JD.com, Tencent Holdings, and Meituan.
• Commentaries from media outlets signal a potential tightening on regulations after China finalized rules to root out monopolistic practices in the internet industry in February.