Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
CATL, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, is discussing acquiring a controlling stake in the ‘Power’ unit of the Shanghai-based EV maker Nio, Reuters reported on Monday citing four people familiar with the matter.
The report follows last week’s departure of Nio’s VP of Nio Power Shen Fei who leads now the Group’s first sub-brand Onvo.
Last month, Nio signed a partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) to “advance the high-quality development of the new energy vehicle industry by building a battery swapping network for passenger vehicles.”
Back then, both companies said they would “also pursue capital cooperation,” with CATL advancing an investment capped at 2.5 billion yuan ($342 million) in Nio’s energy business.
As of Monday, Nio Power operates 3,245 battery swap stations across China as it aims to reach between 4,800 and 5,000 by the year end.
Reuters reported that the sources did not disclose the value of CATL’s offer under the proposed deal. However, one source said Nio Power was valued at over 10 billion yuan in a 2024 fundraising round.
“Nio and CATL will deepen collaboration on capital and business and further consolidate the strategic partnership to jointly build the largest battery swapping network globally,” Nio told Reuters in a statement.
William Li, the founder and CEO of the carmaker said last month that 2025 would be a major year for the expansion of the company’s battery swap network.
In mid-December, China’s battery giant CATL announced its battery swapping ecosystem, the ‘Choco-Swap’ stations, introducing two standardized battery models, named “#20” and “#25.”
Last December, when asked about CATL’s new swappable batteries, William Li told reporters that the standardized batteries would serve a different segment than Nio’s recently launched sub-brand Firefly. Li referred to CATL’s batteries as “likely targeting entry-level, relatively lower-priced vehicles.”
However, with the latest partnership, the companies announced that Firefly vehicles will use CATL’s “Chocolate” battery swap standard and network allowing the company to save costs on building a new battery swap network for the compact model.
As of the time of writing, Nio shares are trading 9% lower amid a global market crash.
