Chinese EV maker NIO has officially launched Battery as a Service (BaaS).
The battery leasing service will allow drivers to buy an EV without owning the battery pack – one of the most expensive EV components – thereby lowering the starting price of its cars.
NIO BaaS is a breakthrough innovation in both technology and business model. BaaS users can subscribe to battery packs of various capacity according to their needs and pay on a monthly basis.
Moreover, BaaS users are also entitled to NIO’s Power Swap and flexible battery upgrade services, as well as the national NEV subsidies and purchase tax exemption enjoyed by users who have purchased batteries.
The cheapest Nio car after subsidies is now an ES6 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) priced 273,600 yuan ($39,553) without ownership of the battery pack, versus 343,600 yuan including the pack
We believe with BaaS, more customers of gasoline cars will consider electric vehicles,” Nio’s chief executive William Li told reporters.
As of August 20, NIO has already obtained more than 1,200 patents related to battery swapping, completed over 800,000 swaps for users and built 143 Power Swap stations nationwide,, where drivers can swap spent battery packs for fully charged replacements.
Li said Nio was building a new battery-swapping station in China every week and planned to build 300 new stations next year.
Li also said the firm hoped to enter some international markets from the second half of next year starting with some European countries. He added the firm aimed to enter more markets from 2022.
The industry ministry has said it would promote the adoption of vehicles with batteries that can be swapped between different makes and models.
To that end, Nio’s battery packs are the same shape and size across its lineup, which is comprised of three SUVs. EV models from peer BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co Ltd also have standardised batteries.
The batteries for Nio’s leasing service will be supplied by a company established by Chinese battery makers including leader Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd. The company has registered capital of 800 million yuan, a government filing showed.