Nio signed a vehicle-chip industrialization partnership with Lontium Semiconductor Corporation on Tuesday, as the Chinese EV maker inks three new agreements with Anhui-based firms.
The signing took place at Nio‘s F2 plant in Hefei, where the company rolled out its one-millionth mass-produced vehicle.
Lontium is headquartered in the same city, where Nio operates three EV factories.
“We have been deepening collaboration with local partners,” Nio wrote on social media, announcing the signing of “a vehicle-chip industrialization partnership with Lontium Semiconductor Corporation, further fostering an open, collaborative, and win-win industrial ecosystem in Anhui and Hefei.”
Following the announcement, Lontium shares reached an eight-month high of HK$78.59.
The company has been publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since early 2023.
Lontium’s Auto Push
Lontium focuses on “developing and marketing high-speed interface chips, embedded GPUs and ultra high-definition display drivers targeted for wide range high-definition multi-media applications,” according to the company.
Exactly a year ago, Lontium established an Automotive Component and System Solution Business Group to focus on automotive infotainment, cabin display, and ADAS solutions.
The company said at the time that the new Auto business unit would operate independently, led by an experienced chip design team.
The unit focuses on automotive-grade semiconductor components and solutions for infotainment, cabin display, head-up displays, ADAS video capture and transmission, and multiple display transmission.
Separately, Nio said it signed a framework agreement with Chery Automobile and JAC Motors on co-building an automotive innovation platform.
Nio’s Chip Ambitions
The Lontium partnership comes as Nio expands its semiconductor business.
In November, CEO William Li confirmed that Nio is working with partners to license its proprietary autonomous driving chip to external customers in both the automotive and robotics industries — marking the company’s first commercialization of semiconductor technology it has spent billions of yuan developing since 2021.
Nio has developed two in-house chips since launching its semiconductor unit in 2021: the Yangjian chip for LiDAR control and the Shenji NX9031 for autonomous driving computation, which was unveiled in late 2023.
The Shenji NX9031 uses 5-nanometer automotive-grade process technology with computing power approximately four times that of Nvidia’s Orin-X chip, according to Zhang Danyu, Nio‘s chip division head.
The chip currently powers Nio‘s ET9 sedan, updated versions of the ES6 and EC6 SUVs, and the ET5/ET5 Touring sedans. The brand’s upcoming flagship ES9 SUV is also expected to feature the technology.
Chip Joint Venture
Nio established Anhui Shenji Technology as a separate subsidiary in June to house chip operations that previously functioned as an internal business unit.
The EV maker formed earlier this year a chip-focused joint venture with OmniVision and Axera with registered capital of 100 million yuan. Axera holds a 36.4% stake as the largest shareholder.
“We are leveraging our partners of this joint venture to sell our chip and also our IC design capabilities to other clients and also potential users,” Li said on the earnings call.
The CEO said the partnership extends beyond automotive applications.
“We do see a good potential of applying this high computing power chip on different types of devices. For example, on robots,” Li added.
