(Reuters) – CATL, the largest manufacturer of batteries in the world, is in talks to acquire majority participation in the energy production unit of the electric vehicle manufacturer (VE) NIO, which manages more than 3,000 battery exchange stations in China, four sources close to the file told Reuters.
CATL made this proposal after announcing an investment of 2.5 billion yuan (310.82 million euros) in the unit, Nio Power, in March, said the sources wishing to remain anonymous, the discussions not yet public.
The sources did not specify the amount of CATL’s offer within the framework of the proposed agreement. However, according to one of them, Nio Power was estimated at more than 10 billion yuan during a fundraising in 2024.
Contacted by Reuters, Catl refused to comment on the proposal.
Nio did not answer questions directly concerning the possible agreement, but declared encouraging the joint construction of battery exchange stations “with several investors, including CATL”.
“NIO and CATL will strengthen their collaboration in terms of capital and commerce and consolidate their strategic partnership in order to build together the largest battery exchange network in the world,” said Nio to a request for comment from Reuters.
CATL multiplies investments in battery exchange facilities, its boss Robin Zeng seeking to transform his business into a green energy supplier.
The group, which aims to take the lead of a trend which, according to him, will replace a third of the service stations in China, announced last week a partnership with the public oil company Sinopec with a view to building 10,000 battery exchange stations. At least 500 of them will be built this year.
Nio Power, one of Nio’s main active ingredients, provides charging and exchange of batteries in Nio and other brands in VE, including Tesla and Byd.
The potential sale of the unit reflects the intensification of competition on the Chinese automotive market.
To reassure consumers on the autonomy of the VE, Nio installed around 3,240 stations, mainly in China, allowing to replace an empty battery in less than three minutes. However, these investments have weighed on its profitability.
Nio also co-developed VEs which can exchange their batteries with the models of other car manufacturers.
(Zhang Yan, Zhuzhu Cui and Brenda Goh, Elena Smirnova, edited by Augustin Turpin)
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