Nio Power, a subsidiary of the publicly-listed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker NIO, has secured 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in strategic financing to fuel the growth of its network of charging and battery-swapping facilities.
Headquartered in Wuhan, Nio Power raised the new financing from Wuhan Guangchuang Fund, an equity investment vehicle set up by the city’s state-owned investment firm Wuhan Optics Valley Industrial Investment, according to an official statement from Nio.
Wuhan Optics Valley Industrial Investment, which posted over 40 billion yuan ($5.5 billion) in assets under management (AUM) by the end of 2022, is involved in startup incubation, financing, and the construction of industrial and science parks to promote the technology ecosystem in Wuhan.
This strategic financing will allow Nio Power to invest in the tech R&D, manufacturing, operations, and maintenance of its mobile Internet-based power solutions and services powered by EV charging and battery swapping stations, and for energy storage, said the parent.
With the fresh capital, Nio Power plans to further expand its network of EV charging and battery swapping infrastructures, which is already the largest nationwide.
Founded in 2017, Nio Power boasted 2,427 battery-swapping stations and 22,595 charging piles in China as of May 31. More than 80% of its power facilities serve EV cars under brands outside of NIO, according to the firm.
IM Motors, the premium EV brand backed by Alibaba Group and the Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC Motor Corp, was the latest to join NIO’s EV power ecosystem with a partnership signed just a few days earlier. Nio Power also services Geely Holding Group, which owns Zeekr, Volvo, and Lotus EVs, as well as fellow Chinese EV manufacturers such as Changan Automobile and Chery Automobile.
This fundraising update comes right before NIO, whose top shareholders include Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Investments, BlackRock, and Tencent Holdings, is slated to release its first-quarter results later this week.
While profitability remains a key issue, NIO’s full-year revenues in 2023 grew 12.9% from the previous year to cross $7.8 billion. Its net loss in 2023 stood at over $2.9 billion, up 43.5% year over year (YoY), according to its financial results.
As EV sales continue to recover, NIO and its Chinese peers including Xpeng and Li Auto booked a strong sales performance in the first five months of the year. NIO delivered 66,217 vehicles in the January-May period, representing a YoY increase of 51%.