Nio Group‘s founder and CEO William Li has commented on the Reuters report which said the world’s largest battery maker CATL was in discussions to acquire a controlling stake in the Nio Power unit — the EV maker’s arm focused on the battery swapping and charging network.
CATL, or Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., is the world’s largest battery manufacturer and Nio’s main electric vehicle battery supplier since the very beginning.
Nio operates China’s largest battery swap network, which includes more than 3,250 stations and 26,000 chargers.
On Friday, China’s media outlet Jiemian News reported that a screenshot from a Nio owners’ group chat had circulated online, showing a user asking Li to confirm whether the company’s battery swap stations had been sold.
According to the local outlet, Li answered “Don’t believe or spread rumors.” Nio Power chief left the unit on the first of April to lead the Group’s sub-brand Onvo. The Power arm is now led by Nio’s CFO Stanley Qu.
When approached by Reuters, the outlet said Nio “did not directly address questions about the possible deal but said it was promoting joint construction of battery swapping stations ‘with multiple investors, including CATL’.”
“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 stated.
When contacted by the Chinese newspaper National Business Daily later on Monday, a spokesperson answered: “No further information.”
On Wednesday, Nio‘s ‘head of power industry cooperation’, Yu Xiwei, answered a user’s question on the topic in the Nio App without confirming CATL’s interest in the Power unit.
“This question is beyond my authority,” Yu wrote. “But I think Nio’s efforts over the past decade have been widely recognized by all sectors of society. While attracting talents, it has also attracted the attention of many excellent companies. Some people appreciate us, which is also the driving force for our continuous efforts.”
Nio x CATL Partnership
Last month, Nio and CATL extended their partnership aiming to “advance the high-quality development of the new energy vehicle industry by building a battery swapping network for passenger vehicles.”
Late last year, China’s battery giant unveiled its new battery swapping ecosystem, the ‘Choco-Swap’ battery swap stations.
Firefly, the second sub-brand of the Nio Group, will adopt CATL’s battery swap standards and network allowing Nio to save costs on building a separate battery swap network for its new brand.
Battery Swap Network
Earlier this week, Nio Power signed a strategic partnership with Jinan Gaoxin Holding Group in the Shandong Province to build 50 Nio battery swap stations in the region.
As of Friday, Nio operates 3,253 battery swap stations with more than 26,000 chargers across China and aims to reach between 4,800 and 5,000 swap stations by the year end.
