According to a report by Reuters, Chinese EV maker Nio has revealed that it will start making high-voltage battery packs that it has developed itself in 2024. This is part of efforts to improve the company’s profitability and competitiveness to better take on rivals such as Tesla.
Nio chairman William Li said from the second half of 2024, the company will produce 800-volt battery packs which recharge faster compared to 400-volt packs used in most EVs on the market today. Notable models that run on an 800-volt architecture include the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, Lucid Air, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
Li added that there are currently 400 Nio employees working on the research and development of battery technologies and the company also plans to use battery cells that are self-produced and sourced externally in the long run, like Tesla.
The self-produced battery packs will be used for a new mass-market marque that will launch models expected to be priced around 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (RM131,562 to RM196,778) in the second half of 2024. Currently, the most affordable Nio model in China is the ET5 which starts from 328,000 yuan (RM215,229).
Nio said battery costs would have risen in the second quarter after it renewed an agreement with its sole battery supplier CATL in April. The company recently reported a net loss of 1.8 billion yuan (RM1.18 billion) in the first quarter, down from 4.9 billion yuan (RM3.21 billion) a year earlier.
It also forecasts deliveries to be between 23,000 and 25,000 units in the second quarter of this year, down from 25,768 units in the first quarter due to reduced production resulting from a two-month lockdown in Shanghai.
In its latest sales report, Nio delivered 7,024 vehicles in May 2022, with the year-to-date figure currently at 37,866 vehicles (11.8% year-over-year increase). The company also announced it will launch a new model later today.
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400V/800V, finally – It’s allowing a higher kW support.
Porsche Taycan –
23 mins, 5-80% at 270 kW charging.
Today, our Shell/Petronas station going to 90kW/180kW when combined.
To reach 3mins, still feeling like at least 10 years later…
Today Electron Fueling Station is probably as good as 1970s of Gasoline Fueling station, less roofing covered, little attap, yet still with slower speed, but self-service..