Of that 10 GWh of battery assets, they contain more than 17,000 tons of nickel, more than 6,300 tons of cobalt and more than 5,700 tons of lithium.

(Image credit: Mirattery)

Mirattery, or Wuhan Weineng, has seen the size of its battery assets under management surpass the 10 GWh mark, the (NYSE: NIO) battery asset operator announced today.

In the battery services market, Mirattery's share is over 70 percent, the company, which was founded in August 2020, said.

These batteries have powered vehicles for more than 4.5 billion kilometers, the equivalent of 112,200 circles around the earth, with a cumulative carbon reduction equivalent to nearly 300,000 tons, the company said in a statement.

The 10 GWh of battery assets contain more than 17,000 tons of nickel, more than 6,300 tons of cobalt and more than 5,700 tons of lithium, according to the statement.

Nickel, cobalt and lithium are valuable strategic resources with high recycling value after the batteries are retired, Mirattery said.

Nio delivered 11,866 vehicles in March, bringing cumulative deliveries since inception to 479,647 vehicles, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

Mirattery was founded on August 18, 2020, as a joint venture between , Nio, Guotai Junan and Hubei Science Technology Investment.

In August 2020, Nio launched its BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental business, and Mirattery is the operator of the battery assets for rental.

Customers who purchase a Nio vehicle based on the BaaS model will have the threshold for purchase lowered by at least RMB 70,000 ($9,670), but will have to pay a monthly fee for the leased batteries.

On March 14, adjustments were made to the BaaS battery rental service, lowering the monthly rental fee from RMB 980 to RMB 728 for the 70/75-kWh standard range battery packs, and RMB 1,128 from RMB 1,680 for the 100-kWh long range battery packs.

Nio management emphasized in a communication with the media at the time that the price cuts and adjustments to BaaS services were not due to the electric vehicle (EV) price war, but they acknowledged that it helped make the BaaS solution more attractive.

The company was considering tweaking the BaaS services before the latest round of price war, but it was a complex job as it involved Mirattery as well as a large number of other stakeholders, it said.

Nio revamps BaaS, a key car-buying option for reducing initial costs, amid fierce price war

($1 = RMB 7.2386)