Business Bites How DHL is closing the EV service gap for NIO

Electric vehicles promise a cleaner future for mobility. However, when a part needs replacing or a repair is required, a fast and reliable service network becomes essential. As NIO, a global company selling smart electric vehicles, expands across Europe, DHL is helping build the backbone that keeps electric vehicles on the road.

Electric vehicles (EV) are arriving in Europe faster than ever. According to the International Energy Agency, more than 900,000 electric cars were sold across Europe in the first quarter of 2025 alone. As adoption accelerates, around one in twenty cars on European roads is now electric. New brands, new models, and new technologies are reshaping the automotive landscape.

But once a vehicle is on the road, the real test begins. When a component fails or a replacement part is needed, drivers expect their car to be repaired quickly. Long waiting times for parts can quickly turn excitement about a new vehicle into frustration. For EV manufacturers expanding into Europe, building a strong service infrastructure is just as important as launching the vehicle itself.

To support its growing fleet, NIO has partnered with DHL to manage aftermarket logistics for its electric vehicles.

From our Auto-Mobility Campus in Holtum, Netherlands, we oversee the storage, distribution, and customs clearance of spare parts and accessories for customers across northwestern Europe.

This setup supports both NIO’s premium electric vehicles and its new Firefly brand, which focuses on premium compact EVs for urban mobility. Our solution integrates world-class service from our business units – Supply Chain and Global Forwarding, Freight – ensuring specialized expertise at every stage of the supply chain. This creates a scalable network capable of supporting NIO’s continued expansion.

As electric vehicle fleets grow across Europe, the logistics of spare parts have shifted from a back-office function to a competitive necessity. For a vehicle to return to the road with minimal disruption, components must navigate borders and service networks with precision.

For manufacturers expanding into new markets, scalability is the priority. Success depends on a logistics setup where strategic storage and rapid customs clearance are standard, allowing brands to maintain a local feel despite a global supply chain.

To support this transformation, DHL operates industry-leading EV Centers of Excellence around the world to handle the complex logistics of electric vehicles and batteries. These centers combine global expertise with local know-how to support customers across the entire lifecycle of electric mobility – from transportation and warehousing to end-of-life battery management.

At DHL, our role in electric mobility is about building the infrastructure that supports a vehicle’s entire lifecycle. While the EVs define the future of mobility, the resilience of the service networks behind them ensures that future remains in motion.

Electric mobility is only one part of a much larger transformation. Around the world, the transition to renewable energy is creating entirely new supply chains – from battery production and recycling to solar, wind and energy storage technologies.

DHL supports this shift through its New Energy Logistics solutions, helping customers build resilient supply chains for the technologies powering the energy transition. This includes specialized logistics for batteries, charging infrastructure, renewable energy components and other critical technologies that enable the shift toward cleaner energy systems.

As industries move toward electrification and decarbonization, logistics providers play an increasingly important role in connecting innovation with real-world deployment – ensuring the technologies shaping tomorrow’s energy landscape can scale globally.