Chinese EV maker Nio to make self-developed battery packs from 2024

CHINESE electric-car maker Nio said that in 2024 it will start making high-voltage battery packs that it has developed itself, as part of a drive to improve profitability and competitiveness to take on rivals such as Tesla.

Nio, plans to start producing an 800-volt battery pack in the second half of 2024, its chairman William Li told analysts on a call on Thursday (Jun 9).

Most electric vehicles (EV) operate with 400-volt batteries while Porsche's Taycan electric cars are powered by 800-volt lithium-ion battery packs, which recharge faster.

Li said Nio - which has over 400 employees working on the research and development of battery technologies - also plans to use a combination of self-produced and externally sourced batteries in the long run, a plan similar to Tesla's.

Li said Nio plans to use self-produced battery packs for its new mass-market marque, which is expected be ready for sale in the second half of 2024. These new models are expected to be priced around 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (S$41,290-S$61,935), he added.

Nio said battery costs would have risen in the second quarter after the renewal in April of an agreement with its sole battery supplier CATL.

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The company said on Thursday its net loss narrowed to 1.8 billion yuan in the first quarter from 4.9 billion a year earlier.

But Nio forecast deliveries of between 23,000 and 25,000 vehicles in the quarter ending Jun 30, down from 25,768 in Q1, reflecting a general drop in production by major automakers as a result of a two-months long Covid-19 lockdown in Shanghai.

US-listed shares of Nio, which closed down 7.7 per cent on Thursday, have lost 44 per cent of their value so far this year. REUTERS