New Project NIO Power Seeks Billions in Funding
NIO is seeking a deal with investors that would be willing to finance its spin-off NIO Power. The new project is an effort to stay afloat amid fierce competition from local rivals.
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The project is led by NIO founder and CEO Li Bin, Co-founder and President Qin Lihong, and Vice President of NIO Power Shen Fei. The aim is to launch an independent app within the next two months.
NIO Power will be renamed and the final name has not yet been determined. According to relevant sources, NIO Power currently has a team with thousands of people, and has opened services in major cities in mainland China.
NIO Power will be based on five product lines, including supercharger stations, power vans, battery swaps, “one click for power”, and charger maps. NIO Power is already operating in major cities in China and has most of the functions that the new NIO Power is expected to have. NIO opened its “one click for power” service to facilitate EV charging consumers in April. The goal is to make charging easier and more convenient than refueling.
“We are currently investing about 2 billion yuan in NIO Power,” an insider said, and although the data has not been confirmed by NIO, it is clear that the cost of building a charging service system infrastructure is anything but cheap. According to NIO’s official plan, the company will build more than 1,100 power stations across the country and simultaneously put out more than 1,200 mobile charging vehicles in 2020.
