Robin Zeng "infuses" Li Bin, NIO joins forces with "King Ning" to counter supercharging

NIO gains support at a critical moment.

March 18th,Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. LimitedFounder Zeng Yuqun and NIO CEO Li Bin signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Ningde, Fujian. CATL plans to invest 2.5 billion yuan in NIO Energy, and both parties will jointly build the world's largest passenger vehicle battery swap network.

The Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily reporter visited multiple NIO battery swap stations in the Shenzhen area, and many car owners said that the cost of swapping batteries is lower than charging fees. Some industry insiders believe that facingBYDThe recently launched super charging technology, the collaboration between both parties can further consolidate their voice in the new energy vehicle industry.

The reporter noticed that after the news was released, NIO's US stock price rose by up to 3.18% on March 18th. As of the time of writing, the pre-market price was $5.27, an increase of 1.54% from the previous trading day's closing price.

Ningde Capital Injection, NIO Battery Swap Stations Move Towards Openness

It is reported that the global headquarters of NIO Power is located in Wuhan Optics Valley. As of February 20, 2025, NIO Power has built 3,117 battery swap stations and 25,481 charging piles across the country.

Previously, NIO planned to complete the coverage of battery swap stations in 14 provincial administrative regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong, and over 1200 county-level administrative regions by June 30, 2025; and to cumulatively cover 27 provincial administrative regions and over 2300 county-level administrative regions with battery swap stations by December 31, 2025.

And CATL officially entered the battery swapping market in 2022, launching a battery swapping brand for the passenger car market "EVOGO" (LeXing Battery Swap), as well as "Chocolate Battery Swap Block" technology, and introduced standardized battery blocks No. 20 and No. 25, corresponding to the standardized design of "92/95 gasoline type".

Currently, "LeXing Battery Swap" has been operating in multiple cities including Xiamen, Fuzhou, Hefei, and Guiyang, with 15 battery swap stations already in operation in Xiamen. According to the plan of CATL, 1,000 chocolate battery swap stations will be built by 2025, and they will also enter the Hong Kong and Macau markets. In the medium term, 10,000 stations will be jointly built with various partners, ultimately achieving a total of 30,000 jointly built battery swap stations.

Zeng Yuqun previously stated,CATL will join hands with automakers such as Changan, GAC, BAIC, Wuling, and FAW to jointly launch ten battery swap models. And among these automakers, most have also successively reached battery swap cooperation with NIO before 2025.

An auto analyst told the Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily: "The biggest benefit of cooperating with CATL is the 'breaking out' of NIO's battery swap network. NIO's battery swap stations will be compatible with CATL's chocolate battery swap blocks, and both parties will jointly promote the inclusion of battery swap technology in national standards, vying for industry discourse power; for CATL, the battery swap ecosystem is a defensive layout against BYD's recently launched supercharging technology."

It is reported that recently BYD launched the world's first mass-produced passenger vehicle 1000V high-voltage system, achieving a charging power of 1000kW (1 megawatt) through synergy with a 1000A ultra-high current, officially ushering in the "megawatt era" for charging power.

The analyst added that the success or failure of this cooperation will determine whether the battery swapping model can be upgraded from a marginal energy replenishment method to a mainstream industry approach, thereby reshaping the global new energy automobile industry landscape. For both parties, short-term cost investment is a necessary strategic price, while the long-term contest for ecological dominance is the core battlefield.

NIO Energy urgently needs to reduce costs

It is worth noting that NIO's previous battery swap system was closed and costly, serving only its own models, but this situation has improved.

Recently, a reporter from the "Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily" visited several NIO battery swap stations in the Shenzhen area, one of which, located in Shenzhen Xiangmi Lake Park, is NIO's fourth-generation battery swap station. According to information provided by owners of other brands who frequently come here for charging, daytime is the peak operating period for this site.

A BYD car owner told the reporter of The Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily that the station had been open for a short time, and during the first month after its opening, there were NIO staff patrolling, but later on, it was rarely operated. "The most cars come for battery swapping during the day, especially on weekends, when there are long queues at the battery swap station."

Subsequently, four NIO cars arrived at the battery swap station for battery swapping, and some NIO owners were also charging their vehicles at the NIO charging piles next to the swap station.

A NIO car owner told the STAR Market Daily that charging is just to enjoy the duration of free parking. "At the same time, the cost of battery swapping here is lower than the cost of charging, so under normal circumstances, I would only swap the battery."

Unlike the busy Xiangmihu battery swap station, another NIO battery swap station, the Shenzhen Bao'an Gushu NIO battery swap station, has a relatively lower usage rate. This can also be seen from the historical battery swap data provided on the NIO app, and compared to the high electricity fees at the Xiangmihu station, the overall cost at the Gushu station is more than 10 cents cheaper.

Another NIO car owner calculated for the reporter of The Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily: "It's usually the power exchange stations located in city centers and popular areas that have higher electricity fees, while those in relatively remote locations have lower prices. Although the difference in electricity costs is just a few jiao, the maximum price difference per exchange can reach over 20 yuan."

At present, NIO is still in a state of overall loss (a net loss of 5.06 billion yuan in the third quarter of 2024)Financial data shows that as of the third quarter of 2024, NIO's cumulative losses reached 103.2 billion yuan, with the battery swap business accounting for about 30% of the losses. Li Bin revealed in the same period's financial report meeting that due to huge investments in technology iteration for the self-made battery project, "it will be difficult to reverse the downward trend of gross profit margin in the next three years," and the expansion of the battery swap network (adding 1,000 new battery swap stations in 2024) further increased financial pressure.

Previously, NIO co-founder and president Lihong Qin said that the cost of a single NIO battery swap station is about 3 million yuan. In comparison, the cost of a single Tesla supercharger is about 50,000 yuan, meaning the cost of a single NIO battery swap station is 60 times that of a Tesla supercharger.

Li Bin has also revealed that NIO's single battery swap station needs to serve 60 orders per day to break even, and by August 2024, 20% of the stations have reached this level.

In February 2025, NIO Vice President Shen Fei also revealed that the battery swap business in Shanghai has reached 9,000 orders per day, approaching 10,000 orders. "Currently, in most parts of Shanghai, as long as a battery swap station can be built, it is definitely profitable, very close to the break-even point."

There is a view in the industry that NIO Energy, as the main operator of the battery swap network, by accepting investment from CATL, can reduce battery procurement costs through the "chocolate battery swap standard," thereby promoting an increase in the gross margin of the entire vehicle.

Li Bin may restructure the business landscape

Ningde Era's 2.5 billion yuan investment in NIO Energy accelerates NIO's deep restructuring.

Li Bin accumulated his initial capital through Bitauto (listed on the NYSE in 2010) and also founded the auto finance company Yixin. In 2015, he participated in the founding of Mobike as an angel investor, and when Meituan acquired it in 2018, he cashed out approximately 1.5 billion yuan.

At the same time, with the rise of the new energy vehicle industry, Li Bin has also fully devoted himself to the wave of car manufacturing and has made a deep layout in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

The Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily reporter梳理显示, NIO Capital, as the core investment platform under NIO, has already laid outblack sesameIntelligence, Shouqi Car Service (Shouyue Auto), Nenglian, Youdi Second-hand Parts, and over 40 other companies, covering the entire automotive industry chain including automotive media, vehicle manufacturing, aftermarket, and mobility services.

However, NIO has faced significant challenges recently. In 2024, it delivered 220,000 vehicles (with an average price exceeding 400,000 yuan), but in February 2025, sales plummeted by 27% to 8,000 units. By the end of 2024, NIO's cumulative losses exceeded 100 billion yuan, with cash reserves falling from 57.3 billion yuan to 42.2 billion yuan, and the debt-to-asset ratio climbing to 84.5%.

Not long ago, Li Bin set a sales target of 440,000 units for NIO by 2025 (doubling year-on-year), mainly relying on the Firefly (priced around 150,000 yuan) and Le Dao (family car priced between 200,000-250,000 yuan) brands to be launched in 2025. If Firefly has not yet scaled up, Le Dao needs to achieve monthly sales of 20,000 units to support the target. However, the current monthly sales of Le Dao L60 are only about 5,000 units, which is significantly short of the break-even point (monthly sales of 20,000-30,000 units).

Based on this, there is a view in the industry that Li Bin may take the opportunity of CATL's investment to spin off NIO Energy. This move could transfer the heavy asset operation of the battery swap business (with a single station cost of about 3 million yuan) to an independent entity, reducing the parent company's losses in the short term (the battery swap business is expected to lose over 30 billion yuan in 2024), and in the long term, increase valuation through independent financing (such as CATL's planned investment of 2.5 billion yuan).

In fact, Li Bin had already signaled the possibility of "NIO Energy potentially spinning off for independent financing" during the 2023 financial report meeting, and in June 2024, it brought in a 1.5 billion yuan investment from Wuhan Guangchuang Fund. At the same time, NIO China received a 3.3 billion yuan capital increase from institutions such as Hefei Jianheng and Anhui Gaoxin Tou, providing financial security for core segments like the battery swap business and accelerating the spin-off process.

An investor told the reporter of The Sci-Tech Innovation Board Daily that after Tesla spun off SolarCity, the valuation of its energy business reached $30 billion, and Continental's market value increased by 40% after it divested its automotive segment, validating the effectiveness of asset spin-offs. If NIO Energy were to raise funds independently, its valuation could reach 15-20 billion yuan, attracting support from long-term capital.

However, the person emphasized that Li Bin needs to achieve sales of 440,000 units and profitability in a single quarter by 2025, otherwise he will face financing difficulties. Currently, the industry reshuffle is intensifying, and only the top 10% of companies are expected to survive.