NIO Inc. NIO recently hosted its second annual Power Day event, where it provided a peek into its future development plans for charging and battery technology. It also launched some products.
Here is a detailed look on the vital developments at Power Day 2022.
The China-based EV maker unveiled the 500 kW ultra-fast charging piles to compete with overseas peers. The 500 kW fast chargers have peak currents of 650 amps, a level which undoubtedly qualifies for the most impressive power in the industry and a tough competition to peers. The ultra-fast-charging pile will be coming to Europe and China by the end of 2022. The company has installed a total of 127,528 home charging piles for its customers.
Per NIO, 80% of supercharging pile sessions is performed by customers driving other brands of EVs. NIO’s indigenous, self-sufficient charging network will indeed set an example for other automakers.
In addition to the new fast-charging piles, NIO unveiled its third-generation battery swap stations, which are nearing completion and awaiting installations in late 2022 or early 2023.
NIO’s first two 200 swap stations implemented were of the first-generation design, capable of storing five EV batteries. Swap stations 201 through 1,011 are the second-generation model, storing 13 batteries alongside a maximum daily service capacity of 312 swaps.
The third-generation station will offer more battery capacity and a more flexible layout. To date, NIO’s battery swap stations accommodate a total of 8,961 batteries.
It was also announced that by 2025, NIO will have a battery swap network covering nine vertical highways, nine horizontal highways and 19 urban areas in China. Also, more than 90% of NIO’s customers will have the facility of at least one battery swap station within 3 kms of their homes. The company also plans to have more than 4,000 battery swap stations worldwide by 2025, with 1,000 swap stations overseas. The automaker is also testing the use of stored batteries to provide power back up to the grid below a given battery swap station. Moreover, the company has already completed vehicle-to-grid (V2G) testing and will implement the same in application scenarios in the future.
Another noteworthy accomplishment was the completion of NIO’s 1,000th battery swapping station.
The latest station is the first to be powered entirely by renewable energy, including solar and hydro power. The rate at which the stations became operational is a crucial development. The automaker went from 200 to 1,000 operational stations in only 15 months and said it opened new stations in China at the rate of two per day.
NIO also stated that it has completed more than 10 million battery swaps, with a daily average of above 30,000 swaps per day.
It also intends to start manufacturing 800-volt battery packs designed in-house by 2024, per media sources.
The ongoing global supply chain issues have impacted China as well, stifling the country’s auto industry. Despite the challenges, the company seems steady, maintaining its top-notch position in combining luxury, technology and innovative energy provision to its all-electric vehicles.
Shares of NIO have lost 50.6% over the past year compared with its industry’s 27.5% decline.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
NIO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), currently.
Some better-ranked players in the auto space are BorgWarner BWA, LKQ Corporation LKQ and Standard Motor Products SMP, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
BorgWarner has an expected earnings growth rate of 24% for 2023. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been constant in the past 30 days.
BorgWarner’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. BWA pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 33.1%, on average. The stock has declined 25.7% over the past year.
LKQ has an expected earnings growth rate of 6.3% for 2023. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 0.25% upward in the past 30 days.
LKQ’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. LKQ pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 23.55%, on average. The stock has gained 3.1% in the past year.
Standard Motor has an expected earnings growth rate of 5.2% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has remained constant in the past 30 days.
Standard Motor’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters. SMP pulled off a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 40.34%, on average. The stock has increased 4.6% over the past year.
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