Electric cars: Nio to build San Jose facility for testing battery swaps in early move to take business model global, report says
- The facility near Nio’s headquarters in San Jose, California may be operational by November: report
- Nio was the first Chinese maker of electric cars to embark on battery rental to augment its vehicle sales
Nio is building a test facility in the United States for its customers to lease electric-car battery packs, taking a small step towards expanding its battery as a service (Baas) business model.
The facility near Nio’s headquarters in San Jose, California may be operational by November, according to a report by the news portal electric-vehicles.com, citing two unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Shanghai-based Nio would not confirm the report, saying only that it was “moving forward [with] the relevant work as planned”, in its statement to the Post.
Nio, founded in 2014 by entrepreneur William Li, was the first Chinese maker of electric cars to embark on battery rental to augment its vehicle sales, which can slash the cost of alternative-fuel cars by up to 20 per cent and make them more affordable to the driving public.
Li envisions building an assembly in the US by 2025, according to a company source familiar with the matter who asked to remain anonymous as the information is not public. The plan has not been announced officially in any form.
02:05
Chinese smart-battery swap stations can change EV batteries automatically
The carmaker was on the lookout as recently as May for US-based professionals with experience in planning manufacturing campuses and logistics, in an apparent move towards building a car assembly in the country, according to two executives at component makers that have business ties with Nio.