Category: Nio

CATL confirms it’s negotiating new prices with EV makers

's lithium sharing program is not for price reduction purposes, but rather the company already owns some mineral resources and doesn't want to reap windfall profits, its management said.

Last month it was reported that CATL was pushing a lithium rebate program to electric vehicle (EV) makers to drive down the cost of battery purchases for a handful of customers. Now, for the first time, the power battery giant has acknowledged the move.

CATL's lithium-sharing program is not for the purpose of lowering prices, but rather the company already owns some mineral resources and doesn't want to reap windfall profits, its management said Thursday.

The company released its 2022 annual report Thursday and held an investor call afterward in which its management made those comments, according to a meeting minutes it released today.

CATL hopes to be able to share with long-term strategic customers and is moving forward with relevant communications, the company said.

On February 17, local media outlet 36kr first reported on CATL's plan, saying it was not for all customers, but for several strategic customers including (NYSE: NIO), (NASDAQ: LI), and .

The core terms of the partnership include that CATL will settle a portion of the price of power battery supply with car companies at a rate of RMB 200,000 ($28,720) per ton of lithium carbonate for the next three years.

At the same time, automakers signing the partnership will be required to commit about 80 percent of their battery purchases to CATL, according to the report.

CATL did not confirm the report at the time, though Li Auto and NIO both mentioned the program in their respective subsequent earnings calls.

In response to the rumored new pricing arrangement, Li Auto and CATL were in negotiations, the EV maker said during an analyst call following the February 27 announcement of its fourth-quarter earnings.

Whether it's lithium price concessions or battery prices linked to raw materials, it would be good news if battery prices could be brought back to a rational range, Li Auto's management said.

Asked about the topic during a conference call on March 1, NIO's management said the company is also in the process of discussions with CATL.

"Of course, we will maintain a long-term strategic relationship with CATL, and we are discussing some new pricing mechanisms with them," said William Li, NIO founder, chairman and CEO.

Battery makers also recognize that they must share the price volatility of battery materials with car companies, Li said at the time.

Back at CATL, the company's annual report, released yesterday, showed it posted a 39 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in net profit in the fourth quarter and further improved gross margins to 22.57 percent.

CATL's management, when asked about the lithium industry overhaul in Yichun, Jiangxi, said it had essentially no impact on the company, and its projects there are moving forward as planned.

The overhaul is mainly aimed at correcting the chaos in local lithium mining, which is beneficial to compliant companies in the long run, CATL's management said.

In Yichun, nicknamed the "lithium capital of Asia," local lithium miners have shut down production for an industry-wide overhaul, Yicai reported on February 26.

Analysts fear that this may bring disruption to the lithium supply, thus halting the downward trend in lithium prices. But such fears have not materialized.

Lithium carbonate prices have continued to fall over the past two weeks, with battery-grade lithium carbonate falling to RMB 367,000 per ton on March 9 and industrial-grade lithium carbonate falling to RMB 332,500 per ton, both one-year lows.

($1 = RMB6.9643)

CATL reportedly cutting battery costs significantly for some clients including NIO, Li Auto

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NIO ET5 drops 1 spot in ranking of top-selling premium sedans in China

ET5 ranks No. 7 with 6,471 retail sales in February, surpassed by Audi A4L with 6,935 sales.

NIO.US | 9866.HK | NIO.SG

NIO's (NYSE: NIO) ET5 electric sedan slipped in a China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) sales ranking of premium sedans, as it was passed by the Audi A4L last month.

With 6,471 retail sales in February, the ET5 ranked No. 7 in China for premium sedan sales starting at more than 300,000 yuan ($43,080), according to a list released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The ET5 ranking dropped one spot from January as the previously No. 7 Audi A4L outsold the ET5 with 6,935 units in February.

In January, the ET5 ranked No. 6 on the list with 5,795 retail sales, while the Audi A4L was ranked No. 7 with 4,943 units.

The ET5 is the cheapest in the NIO product array, with a starting price of RMB 328,000. Deliveries of the model began on September 30, 2022.

NIO delivered 12,157 vehicles in February, including 5,037 SUVs, and 7,120 sedans.

Considering that NIO's sedans include only the ET7 and ET5, this means that ET7 delivered 649 units in February.

The ET7 has failed to make the list for the past two months, and the flagship NIO sedan had 1,379 deliveries in December, when it ranked No. 10.

The Audi A6L was the best-selling premium sedan in China in February, with 12,167 units sold, and the top spot on the list in January was the BMW 5 Series.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Mercedes-Benz C-Class came in second and third with 12,153 and 11,869 units respectively in February.

The BMW 5 Series and BMW 3 Series ranked fourth and fifth in February with 9,609 and 8,868 units respectively. The BMW 3 Series BEV ranked 8th with 2,976 units.

In January-February, the NIO ET5 ranked 6th with 12,266 units sold.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class was the best-selling premium sedan in China in the first two months, with 26,696 units sold. The BMW 5 Series ranked second with 25,737 units.

The Audi A6L was No. 3 with 24,632 units, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class was No. 4 with 17,762 units and the BMW 3 Series was No. 5 with 16,627 units.

The Audi A4L ranked 7th with 11,878 units sold in January-February and the BMW 3 Series BEV ranked 8th with 6,600 units.

($1 = RMB 6.9661)

NIO ET5 ranks No. 6 on list of best-selling premium sedans in China in Jan

Top-selling premium sedans at retail in China in Feb 2023

RankingModelFeb 2023Feb 2022YoY
1Audi A6L12,1678,15349.2%
2Mercedes-Benz E-Class12,1539,37829.6%
3Mercedes-Benz C-Class11,8695,298124.0%
4BMW 5 Series9,6099,3522.7%
5BMW 3 Series8,86810,185-12.9%
6Audi A4L6,9359,460-26.7%
7NIO ET56,471NANA
8BMW 3 Series BEV2,976NANA
9Volvo S902,8931,66673.6%
10Hongqi H91,1591,477-21.5%

Top-selling premium sedans at retail in China in Jan-Feb 2023

RankingModelJan-Feb 2023Jan-Feb 2022YoY
1Mercedes-Benz E-Class26,69630,398-12.2%
2BMW 5 Series25,73735,444-27.4%
3Audi A6L24,63221,22016.1%
4Mercedes-Benz C-Class17,76215,57114.1%
5BMW 3 Series16,62734,581-51.9%
6NIO ET512,266NANA
7Audi A4L11,87826,204-54.7%
8BMW 3 Series BEV6,600NANA
9Volvo S905,1744,55213.7%
10Hongqi H91,9624,563-57.0%

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Regulatory filing: NIO ET5 shooting brake coming

management previously hinted that the NIO ET5 shooting brake could begin deliveries in China in July.

The NIO ET5 shooting brake has appeared in a regulatory directory in China, with the model just months away from its official launch.

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) today announced the latest batch of models that will be allowed to be sold in China, and NIO's new ET5 is included.

The public can submit their feedback on the list between March 9 and March 15. Entry into the list is the last major regulatory process before a model is allowed to be sold in China.

The page for the new ET5 shows what the shooting brake variant of the sedan looks like, with the overall style continuing from the ET5 sedan.

The length, width and height of the NIO ET5 shooting brake are 4,790 mm, 1,960 mm and 1,499 mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 2,888 mm, which is the same as the ET5 sedan.

The 001, currently the best-known shooting brake model in China, has a length, width and height of 4,970 mm, 1,999 mm and 1,548 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 3,005 mm.

The NIO ET5 shooting brake is equipped with dual motors produced by NIO's electric drive systems division in Hefei, Anhui province, with a maximum power of 150 kW and 210 kW, respectively, and can support a top speed of 200 km/h.

Like several other NIO models based on the NT 2.0 platform, the NIO ET5 shooting brake supports the option of a retractable electric towing hitch, which can tow up to 1,400 kg of caravan weight.

Battery suppliers for the model include CALB in addition to , as do the new EC6, EC7, new ES8 and new ES6.

NIO's original plan was to begin deliveries of five models in the first half of the year, including the EC7 coupe SUV and the new ES8, which were already launched at NIO Day at the end of last year and were set to begin deliveries in May and June, respectively.

William Li, NIO founder, chairman and CEO, said during an analyst call earlier this month after announcing its fourth-quarter earnings that the company's original plan was to begin deliveries of five new models in the second quarter, but later recognized the need to give each vehicle slightly more time to ensure quality at launch.

"In the second quarter of this year, we will start deliveries of four new models, including the ES6, which is our most important model, as per our latest plan so far," Li said.

NIO will also begin deliveries of the fifth new model of the year in July, which may this a little later than originally planned, he said.

Other than the new ES6, Li did not mention specific models.

What can be expected is that in addition to the EC7, the new ES8 and the new ES6, deliveries of the new EC6 will also begin in the second quarter, and the ET5 shooting brake will probably be the model that the company will start delivering in July.

NIO's new ES8 entered China's regulatory catalog in December last year, EC7 and the new ES6 and both in January this year, EC6 was in February.

The NIO ET5 shooting brake will be launched in Europe in a few months, according to previous comments from the company's management.

NIO will launch a shooting brake version of the ET5, a sister model of the ET5, in June or July of this year, said Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of the electric vehicle maker, at an event in January.

The shooting brake variant of the ET5, which is developed for European consumers, will debut in Europe, Qin said at the time.

Shooting brake models have a large market in Europe, while sales of the sedan are low, which is the opposite of the situation in China, he said.

"Derivatives of sedans are a niche market in China, but the opposite is true in Europe. We don't see many real sedans in Europe," he said.

In the Chinese market, shooting brake models are a niche market.

However, the success of the Zeekr 001, the first model of 's Zeekr brand, has made such models increasingly popular.

For the full year 2022, Zeekr delivered 71,941 Zeekr 001s, reaching its goal of delivering 70,000 vehicles for the year.

Full text: NIO Q4 earnings call transcript

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Chinese NEV insurance registrations for week ending Mar 5: BYD 38,932, Tesla 13,266, NIO 3,345

NIO vehicles registered 3,345 insurance units last week, down slightly from 3,357 the week before.

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NIO Capital’s portfolio firm Standard Robots closes new financing

Standard Robots aims to use driverless, robotics and artificial intelligence technologies to create efficient and flexible logistics solutions to help manufacturing companies improve productivity.

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NIO becomes trending topic as former intern claims unfair treatment after sexual assault

A female former intern claims she was treated unfairly after being sexually assaulted while working at NIO. The company issued a clarification, but it was challenged by the lady.

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