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Daniel Ren

Chinese electric-vehicle (EV) maker Nio has teamed up with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) to develop batteries with longer lives as a way of lowering overall costs for users.
The two companies aim to churn out EV batteries that can last for as long as 15 years, nearly double the current average lifespan of such batteries of about eight years, which could help EV users save tens of thousands of yuan, they said.
“Battery safety, driving range, battery costs, charging efficiency, charging convenience and battery life” are among the major concerns that still deter drivers from owning EVs, William Li, Nio’s co-founder and CEO, said in a media briefing on Thursday. Details of the new batteries to be developed were not revealed.
“An urgent solution to the issue of battery life is much needed now.”
About 20 million pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in mainland China will have to replace their batteries by 2032, which translates into high costs for EV owners, Li said.
An EV battery that can power a car for as much as 500 kilometres costs about 50,000 yuan (US$6,954) to produce, according to Davis Zhang, a senior ­executive at Suzhou Hazardtex, a supplier of specialised vehicle batteries.

“An extended life cycle for EV batteries means car owners can save thousands of yuan by keeping an EV for a longer term,” he said. “A longer battery life is also a moral boost for potential EV buyers, cementing their decisions to buy electric cars.”
Shanghai-based Nio and CATL, the world’s largest EV battery producer, are already partnering on the development and management of swappable batteries designed to ease EV users’ “range anxiety”.
Nio’s battery-as-a-service model allows owners of the carmaker’s vehicles to quickly exchange spent battery packs for fully charged ones. It has built 2,382 battery swapping and charging stations across the mainland.


Nio has also tied up with a raft of carmakers such as Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, Changan Automobile and JAC Group to jointly develop and promote battery swapping technology.
Nio said it would cut the monthly rental fee for its standard battery pack to 728 yuan down from 980 yuan. Packs used for long-range versions of Nio’s cars will see their monthly rental costs drop 33 per cent to 1,128 yuan.
China is the world’s largest EV market, accounting for about 60 per cent of all battery-powered cars sold worldwide.
Nio reports wider loss, forecasts sharp fall in deliveries as price war escalates
Moreover, aggressive expansion plans unveiled by the Chinese government, EV makers and supply-chain vendors stand in stark contrast with a U-turn by international marques such as Toyota Motor, Ford Motors and General Motors, which recently reined in their EV plans amid weak demand in the United States and Europe.
Nio delivered 50,045 EVs to mainland customers in the three months ending December 31, beating a forecast of 47,000 to 49,000 units. The deliveries, however, represented a 9.7 per cent drop from the previous quarter.
Unlike domestic rivals such as BYD and Xpeng, which have cut prices to spur sales in a sluggish market, Nio always keeps the prices of its cars – all sold at more than 300,000 yuan – unchanged.
On December 18, Nio announced it had raised US$2.2 billion from Abu Dhabi-based fund CYVN Holdings. The financing came after CYVN acquired a 7 per cent stake in Nio for US$738.5 million.


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Chinese EV builder Nio says it is working with CATL to develop batteries with longer lifespans

A Nio battery swap station in Taicang, in China’s Jiangsu province. The EV maker and CATL are already partnering on swappable batteries. Photo: Getty Images

A file photo of Nio’s William Li from January 2021. Photo: AFP

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‘An urgent solution to the issue of battery life is much needed,’ Nio’s William Li says
Details of the new batteries to be developed have not been revealed


The two companies aim to churn out EV batteries that can last for as long as 15 years, nearly double the current average lifespan, which could help EV users save tens of thousands of yuan, they say.


Chinese EV builder Nio says it is working with CATL to develop batteries with longer lifespans

‘An urgent solution to the issue of battery life is much needed,’ Nio’s William Li says Details of the new batteries to be developed have not been revealed

‘An urgent solution to the issue of battery life is much needed,’ Nio’s William Li says

Details of the new batteries to be developed have not been revealed