Electric vehicle maker Nio has added battery manufacturing and related services to its corporate activities, weeks after announcing it is deepening collaboration with the world’s largest battery maker, CATL.
Shanghai Nio Automobile Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Nio Holding Co., Ltd., updated on Monday its business registration to include battery production, battery sales, and the manufacturing of battery components.
According to corporate data provider Tianyancha, the entity was founded in May 2015 and lists Nio co-founder and President Qin Lihong as its legal representative.
Nio was founded by Qin Lihong and William Li in November 2014.
The move follows reports in early April that Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), Nio’s key supplier, was “in talks to acquire a controlling stake” in Nio’s battery services arm, Nio Power — Reuters reported.
“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,” the EV maker said in a statement to Reuters on April 7.
Three weeks earlier, Nio said CATL had committed to invest up to 2.5 billion yuan ($347 million) in Nio Power to co-develop battery swap infrastructure across China, further cementing the alliance.
In April, the company established a new subsidiary — Beijing Weileying Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd. — with a registered capital of 5 million yuan ($685,000).
The new entity is fully owned by Nio Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd., itself a core Nio subsidiary.
The name “Weileying” appears to combine Chinese characters from Nio (蔚来), its mass-market sub-brand Onvo (乐道), and its upcoming Firefly brand (萤火虫). The resulting phrase — “蔚乐萤” — phonetically resembles “为了赢” in Mandarin, meaning “for the win.”
Business registration documents show the company’s operations include sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs), battery swap stations, charging infrastructure, and EV-related accessories and services.
