NIO’s Hefei plant highlights advanced, flexible assembly line

NIO's manufacturing base in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, the country’s leading new energy vehicle startup brand, showcases advanced intelligent manufacturing with a highly flexible assembly line that breaks the limitations of traditional fixed-mode production, boosting production flexibility, operational efficiency, and product quality.

At NIO's Second Advanced Manufacturing Base, vehicles with entirely different models and designs are assembled alternately on the same line. This flexible system supports millions of personalized configuration combinations, spanning a wide range of interiors and accessories to precisely meet the growing demand for customization among global EV consumers.

Besides flexible production, the plant's original zero-kilometer logistics model achieves a major breakthrough in supply chain efficiency. A dedicated connecting corridor links the vehicle assembly workshop directly to supporting component suppliers. Core auto parts such as vehicle seats are delivered to the assembly line in real time via conveyor belts, completely replacing traditional truck transportation. The innovative model substantially cuts intermediate logistics costs and greatly improves overall production efficiency and stability.

"Our automated and digital capabilities enable the plant to roll out one finished vehicle every minute. The workshop is equipped with 1,015 intelligent robots, and all our connections are 100 percent automated, effectively ensuring the safety of our vehicles and the quality of our products," said Yin Liang, a production supervisor.

In addition, AI-driven quality inspection acts as the final and critical safeguard for vehicle quality. The plant's inspection workshop deploys an unmanned detection system integrated with cloud computing, vehicle-mounted AI agents, and 5G technology.

Without human intervention or exposed detection devices, the intelligent system autonomously completes over 1,000 professional inspection items in just three minutes, including door actuation tests, air conditioning and seat functionality checks, and lighting system calibration.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian will leave Tehran for New York on Tuesday to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the official news agency IRNA reported.

The announcement was made by Habibollah Abbasi, director general of public relations at the Iranian president's office, in an interview with IRNA published on Monday.

Abbasi said Pezeshkian will deliver a speech at the UNGA's session and hold meetings with other participating countries' leaders and officials during the trip.

The U.S. government had refrained from issuing visas to some members of the Iranian delegation, including those of the president's media team, he said.

On Thursday, the U.S. government said it would issue visas to some top Iranian officials for the session.