Nio's BaaS (battery as a service) service will be upgraded and the company will hold a user communication session following the announcement of the strategy.
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Nio (NYSE: NIO) will unveil its strategy for long-life batteries on Thursday, March 14, and will upgrade its BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental service.
The strategy communication on long-life batteries will begin at 1:30 pm Beijing time on March 14, and those interested can watch a live video stream of the event on Nio's mobile app as well as on channels including its Weibo account, according to a statement from the company.
The communication will be held in Beijing, not Shanghai, where Nio's global headquarters are located, and CnEVPost will be in Beijing for the event.
Nio did not disclose details about the communication session, though it said in another statement posted to its mobile app that it will hold a user communication session on BaaS on March 14 from 4:30-6:00 pm.
"Nio's BaaS battery rental service is about to receive a full upgrade. We are hosting this user communication session and would like to talk to you in detail about the tweak and the thinking behind it," the statement reads.
The company announced its BaaS service in August 2020, allowing users to purchase only the vehicle body and rent the battery, lowering the threshold for purchasing a Nio car by at least RMB 70,000 ($9,740).
While announcing the BaaS service, Nio founded Mirattery, a battery asset company, which is responsible for the management of battery assets, together with several partners, including CATL.
In China, customers who choose to use the BaaS service to purchase a vehicle will have to pay RMB 980 or RMB 1,680 per month for battery leasing, depending on the capacity of the battery pack.
The policy has not seen major changes in the past few years.
On January 20, Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said at a face-to-face user meeting that the BaaS program would be adjusted and a new policy would be announced as soon after the Chinese New Year holiday. The just ended holiday was on February 10-17.
The operation of the BasS service did not meet expectations and will be adjusted in a good direction next, Qin said at the time.
Also, regarding long-life batteries, William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, had hinted at it earlier this month.
A car can have a 15-year lifespan, so battery life is important, Li said on a March 5 analyst call after the company announced its fourth-quarter 2023 earnings.
Nio has addressed battery safety, charging efficiency, and ease of charging through the battery swap network over the past few years, he said.
The next major step for the company is to address the issue of battery life, where it has done a lot of research over the past few years, Li said.
"The really important thing that's becoming clearer now is battery life, particularly calendar life," Li said.
Battery swap helps maintain battery life, and extending battery life through operational means is a ultimate solution, he said.
Nio to put 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery pack into service in Q2
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