Two of the lines will begin mass production this year, while the other is expected to reach mass production by October 2024.
(Image credit: Comau)
Nio (NYSE: NIO) has added three electric drive system (EDS) production lines in preparation for future capacity expansion, especially after the launch of the sub-brand codenamed Alps.
Italian automation specialist Comau delivered flexible EDS automated assembly lines to Nio that will allow the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker's third-generation induction motors and permanent magnet synchronous motors to be co-produced on the lines, the Italian company, which is part of the Stellantis Group, said in an October 11 statement.
The three additional production lines will have an annual capacity of 1 million EDSs, with two of the lines set to begin mass production this year and the other expected to reach mass production by October 2024, Comau said.
The EDSs will be fitted to Nio's electric sedans, coupes and SUVs, as well as some of the pure electric models from Nio's sub-brand Alps, the Italian company said.
All of Nio's models currently on sale are equipped with dual electric motors, which means that 1 million electric drive systems can meet the needs of 500,000 vehicles.
Alps' first model will be released in the second half of next year, and the first pilot test vehicle has already rolled off the line, William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, said in an August 29 earnings call.
Nio will add a single-motor model option to Alps' first model to boost the brand's strategic flexibility, local media outlet 36kr said in a July 25 report.
Alps' first model will be a sedan, and its single-motor version will feature a new generation of motors that Nio develops and produces in-house, mainly for size and cost optimization reasons, the 36kr report said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Comau's EDS assembly lines delivered to Nio have an average automation rate of more than 80 percent, with a target cycle time of 60 seconds per line, according to the statement from the Italian company.
The three lines cover the main processes including the motor assembly line, the gearbox general assembly line, the inverter general assembly line and the EO test line, according to Comau.
In 2015, there were no available electric drive systems that could meet Nio's requirements, so the company decided to develop the component in-house, Li previously said.
Nio's motor division, XPT, based in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, saw the completion of the first phase of its factory in 2016, and in June 2018 delivered its first EDS.
In July 2020, Nio's 100,000th EDS rolled off the line, and on July 29, 2022, Nio said it had rolled off its 500,000th EDS.
While announcing that 500,000th EDS milestone last year, Nio senior vice president and XPT CEO Zeng Shuxiang said the company had constructed a new EDS production base at NeoPark in Hefei, Anhui province.
The EDS production site has a planned annual capacity of 1.3 million EDSs, Zeng said at the time. It is unclear whether the capacity of the new production lines mentioned by Comau is part of the capacity of the NeoPark EDS production base.
Nio sub-brand Alps' debut model to begin pilot production in Nov, report says
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