Nio made significant changes to its BaaS service on March 14, making it easier for car owners to buy out batteries in the future while lowering the cost of monthly battery rentals.
Nio's (NYSE: NIO) deliveries have grown significantly over the past few months, and the tweaks to its BaaS (battery as a service) service have made a significant contribution. Now, the electric vehicle (EV) maker's president has provided figures that further prove the point.
Since the new BaaS policy was released in March, more than 70 percent of users have opted for the battery rental service so far, Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said today at a press briefing at the Chengdu auto show.
The benefit of renting batteries is that owners are, in effect, handing over the responsibility of maintaining an EV's most valuable component to Nio, Qin said.
Nio owners who lease batteries pay the equivalent of the cost of gasoline for a fuel-efficient vehicle each month, but can use the vehicle worry-free without concern about what it will cost at the end of the battery's life cycle, he said.
Battery life is something that the entire EV industry should come together to focus on, he added.
Nio initially announced its BaaS service in August 2020, lowering the barrier to purchase by at least 70,000 yuan ($9,870).
On March 14 this year, Nio made significant adjustments to the BaaS service to make it easier for owners to buy out batteries in the future while lowering the monthly battery rental fees.
According to Nio's latest policy, customers who choose to buy a Nio model with a standard range battery pack based on the BaaS model can reduce the initial purchase expenditure by RMB 70,000, the same as before.
The latest monthly rental fee for the standard battery pack is RMB 728, a reduction of RMB 252, or 25.71 percent, from RMB 980 prior to the March adjustment.
If a customer chooses to purchase a Nio model with long-range pack based on the BaaS model, the initial purchase expense is reduced by RMB 128,000, the same as before.
The latest monthly fee for the long-range battery pack is RMB1,128, a decrease of RMB 552, or 32.86 percent, from the previous fee of RMB 1,680.
BaaS users who wish to buy out their battery packs in the future will be able to recoup a significant portion of the rental fees they previously paid, which was not applicable previously.
Following the adjustment, Nio's deliveries have risen significantly and have been above 20,000 units in each of the last three months, doubling the average of about 10,000 deliveries per month in the first quarter.
Additionally, Qin today announced that cumulative deliveries of Nio's 6-series models -- the ES6 and EC6 -- have reached the 300,000-unit milestone.
The two SUVs (sport utility vehicle) models have been the mainstay of Nio's sales, especially the ES6, which has the look of a regular SUV. The EC6 is a coupe SUV.
By the end of July, the ES6 and EC6 together had delivered 296,969 vehicles, contributing 53 percent of Nio's 557,518 total deliveries, according to data compiled by CnEVPost. Cumulative deliveries were 219,422 for the ES6 and 77,547 for the EC6.
China Jul EV sales preview: Deutsche Bank expects Nio at 21,000 units, Xpeng 10,000, BYD 300,000
($1 = RMB 7.0950)
Become A CnEVPost Member
Become a member of CnEVPost for an ad-free reading experience and support us in producing more quality content.
Already a member? Sign in here.
More From CnEVPost
