Chinese media claims that the battery itself is worth about $45,000, which is why the plan is to rent it instead of selling it along with the car
April 30, 2024 at 6:29 am
- The car manufacturer will not sell its battery pack, but will only offer it through its battery changing stations.
- Chinese reports claim that the battery alone is worth as much as a Nio ET5 sedan.
- An ET7 equipped with the 150 kWh package recently traveled 665 miles on a single charge.
Nio has been promising to release a BEV with a semi-solid-state battery for more than two years and has finally confirmed that the long-awaited semi-solid-state battery will be available on June 1st. It works with all existing Nio models and can be installed via one of the company’s battery swap stations.
The new package has an energy density of 360 Wh/kg, the highest of any mass-produced electric vehicle battery in China. It has the same dimensions as all other Nio batteries and weighs just 20kg more than Nio’s current flagship 100kWh lithium-ion battery. Interestingly, the semi-solid-state battery will only be available for rental and cannot be installed as standard on new Nio models.
Read: Nio ET7 with semi-solid-state batteries travels 665 miles in real-world testing
Local media reports that Nio owners who have a car with the brand’s 70 kWh or 75 kWh package will have to pay 150 yuan ($21) per day to use the 150 kWh package . Anyone driving around in a Nio model with the 100 kWh package will have to pay 100 yuan ($14) per day for the semi-solid-state option. The Chinese automaker has decided against selling the 150 kWh package outright because it is exorbitantly expensive. In fact, some outlets believe it costs about the same as a Nio ET5, which starts at 328,000 yuan ($45,000).
Although the battery is expensive, it gives the flagship ET7 sedan an impressive range. In recent real-world testing, Nio drove 665 miles (1,070 km) from Kunming to Zhanjiang on a single charge. What makes this feat all the more impressive is the fact that the car was carrying 400 lbs (200 kg) worth of cargo at the time and climbed to an altitude of 6,151 feet (1,875 meters) during its journey.
Nio hasn’t said how quickly the battery charges, but since all the batteries are in Nio battery swap stations, that doesn’t matter as riders can swap out the battery when the range is low.
