Nio is using a battery supplier other than CATL in its new model, local media outlet LatePost reports.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Power battery supply is one of the key factors limiting deliveries of electric vehicle (EV) makers, and many of them appear to be working on bringing in new suppliers to bring down risks.
Nio is using a new battery supplier other than CATL in its new model, local media outlet LatePost reported today.
"Smart EV makers don't want to be overly dependent on a single supplier. In addition to Xpeng's move, GAC Aion and Nio are also using suppliers other than CATL in their new models," the report said, without providing further details.
The report mentioned Nio in the context of describing Xpeng's move to bring in a new battery supplier, Sunwoda, to reduce its reliance on CATL.
It's worth noting that Nio's vehicles are battery swap-enabled, and those that use the service will not carry a fixed battery, but one from a pool.
However, these vehicles will carry a battery from the factory, and information about that battery, including supplier and capacity, will be disclosed in regulatory filings.
CATL has served the most customers with higher battery pricing than its peers, making it a lucrative proposition at a time when China's EV market is growing rapidly and power batteries have been in short supply over the past year.
CATL's market share in China was 52.1 percent in 2021, according to data released earlier this month by the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance, ranking it No. 1.
In a conference call following the release of its third-quarter earnings on November 10 last year, William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, said CATL was trying to keep up with battery supply to Nio, but that's still the ceiling for Nio's deliveries.
Late last month, local media outlet 36kr reported that Li had told the team that they could care less about CATL's offer of a few cents more per Wh of battery than its peers, and that the priority was to get the battery supply.
36kr's report at the time also mentioned that a number of car companies, including Nio, were seeking to reduce their dependence on CATL.
Nio's staff has appeared frequently at BYD, and the two sides are approaching business cooperation, the report said.
Nio was in deep contact with BYD, and discussions between the two sides about cooperation on the former's sub-brand were about to be reached, 36kr said at the time, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The report did not provide more information about Nio's sub-brand or what the partnership would look like, but its wording seemed to be that Nio was expected to use BYD's batteries in the sub-brand.
