Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
The Wuhan-based firm Mirattery was established in August 2020, with joint investments from the world’s largest battery maker CATL, the EV maker Nio, Guotai Junan, and Hubei Science Technology Investment.
That same month, Nio introduced its Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) rental program, which allows users to rent the vehicle’s battery when buying instead of acquiring the battery outright. from their vehicles.
Mirattery, a Nio-backed battery asset operator, is responsible for managing the battery assets used in this program.
Local media outlet 36kr reported on Thursday that CATL plans to invest in Mirattery as part of its continued bet on the battery-swapping business.
As of today, CATL’s stake in Mirattery stands at 10.68%. In December, the startup surpassed 20 GWh in managed battery assets.
The investment follows CATL’s strategic cooperation with Nio on the battery swap technology where it committed to invest up to 2.5 billion yuan ($346 million) in the Nio Power unit. However, the amount invested in Wuhan Weineng will be smaller, the report said.
According to 36Kr, CATL previously sought to acquire shares from other stakeholders in Nio Energy to gain greater influence. The company has been expanding its presence in the battery swap sector, launching its own swap model in December with the “Chocolate Swap” battery packs and two standardized battery modules, the 20# and 25#.
Nio announced on Thursday that nationwide deliveries of its luxury sedan, the ET9, will begin on March 29, with trials for its assisted driving model set to start in early April.
The high-end sedan comes equipped with two Shenji chips and 31 advanced sensors, enabling a range of assisted driving functions, including active safety features and automated parking assistance at battery swap stations.
As of the time of writing, Nio shares are trading 7% lower at $4.80.
