Nio Inc. NIO recently signed an agreement with CATL, a China-based battery manufacturer, for the development of long-lasting electric vehicle (EV) batteries with up to 15 years of life, nearly twice the current national warranty standard. NIO is currently using CATL’s cells in its passenger EV packs.
CATL is the sole battery supplier for NIO’s battery swap network. In February 2024, Nio and CATL partnered with BYD to commercialize solid-state battery technology.
The automaker has not yet provided the production timeline for the new long-lasting batteries.
The current national standard announced in 2016 requires the batteries to have a warranty of eight years or a mileage of 120,000 kilometers. Per the new requirement, EV owners need to replace their batteries with new ones from this year onward. There will be a steep rise in the number of replacements as EVs are a popular choice among car buyers.
Per the statistics, nearly 20 million new energy vehicles’ (NEVs) battery warranties are expected to expire between 2025 and 2032. The new partnership between NIO and CATL aims to address the existing battery life issue.
Nio uses the industry’s first battery lifecycle health operational system across its swap network to monitor the temperature, intensity and charge frequency of the battery packs. Using this information, the company identifies the factors that affect the lifespan of the batteries the most.
Using this information, the company has already been able to extend the lifespan of its swappable battery technology, retaining 80% of the capacity after 12 years of use. CATL has designed a self-repairing Solid Electrolyte Interphase film and lithium supplement that can extend the service life of EV batteries.
Batteries account for nearly half of an EV’s total cost and are, therefore, considered the most expensive component of the vehicle. Per a survey conducted by Nio, a 96.1 kilowatt-hour battery costs more than 236,000 yuan.
Per William Li, founder and CEO of NIO, the owners can continue to drive their vehicle even after the expiration of the battery’s warranty but that causes a significant drop in mileage and increases safety concerns. The company has been trying to address these issues for a long time.
Nio’s battery swap approach that allows car buyers to rent a battery reflects the automaker’s progress toward solving these problems. In a battery swap station, car owners can replace their discharged batteries with fully charged ones within five minutes. Both companies aim to make battery swap services widely available with their latest partnership deal, which will eliminate the concerns related to the high replacement costs of the battery.
Till now, Nio has more than 2,300 battery-swap stations, and the automaker aims to increase the number of stations to 3,100 this year.
Since 2023, Nio has been working with Geely and Changan to design battery-swap standards and codevelop such models.
NIO Introduces New Sub-Brand Onvo
Nio revealed Onvo, the company’s second marque that focuses on family cars.
Per Nio, the first Onvo, which is set to compete with Tesla’s Model Y, will be available for booking in the third quarter of 2024. Deliveries for the model will begin in the fourth quarter.
In 2023, the China-based automaker delivered 160,038 vehicles, representing an uptick of 30.7% from 2022. It expects to sell around 33,000 vehicles in the first quarter, representing an uptick of 6.3% year over year.
The company expects Onvo’s arrival to boost its sales and market share in China’s NEV market this year.
