Nio's in-house large cylindrical battery project edges toward limited output as contract makers named

Limited year-end batch reported, contract manufacturing named

Nio is pressing ahead with its in-house large cylindrical battery programme, with a very small batch of cells expected to roll off production lines by year-end, according to battery industry media outlet Jipian Lab as reported by CnEVPost. The manufacturing details credit Eve Energy (SZSE: 300014) and Gotion High-tech (SZSE: 002074) as the contract manufacturers, with mass production described as difficult in the near term. The cells are of Nio's own design, with production outsourced under the company's model of retaining core battery research and development internally while relying on external manufacturers. ¹

Chinese-language reporting carried by Futu News, citing Jipian Lab via DoNews, matches the core claims: Nio's self-designed large cylindrical cells will be produced by Eve Energy and Gotion High-tech, an extremely small batch will come off the line by year-end, and short-term volume production is expected to be hard to achieve. Futu's report also notes Nio has increased its purchases of CATL prismatic cells, which are now used on both its Onvo and Firefly brands. ⁴¹

Russian-language automotive outlet Cenyavto, covering the same Jipian Lab reporting, similarly states that Nio expects only a very limited batch of cells by year-end and that a rapid transition to full-scale production is not expected, framing the programme as progressing despite repeated schedule adjustments. ²

The programme's history: from a planned 40 GWh factory to outsourced production

Nio's battery strategy has shifted substantially over recent years. In 2023, the company pursued its own battery factory with a planned annual capacity of 40 GWh, but subsequently slowed equipment purchases and delayed mass production, CnEVPost reports. During a December 2023 earnings call, founder, chairman and CEO William Li said the company would continue researching cells, materials and battery packs but would outsource production to reduce costs. ¹

Earlier reporting by CnEVPost, citing local media, documented the scale-up phase: Nio's battery R&D team had exceeded 800 people with annual R&D investment expected to exceed RMB 1 billion, and the company had developed prototypes of large cylindrical cells at a small-scale pilot line in Anting, Shanghai. Reuters reported in February 2023 that Nio planned a first battery factory with 40 GWh of annual capacity, roughly enough for about 400,000 long-range electric vehicles. Li had confirmed on a June 2022 earnings call that Nio would develop its own batteries, and he argued internally that in-house batteries and chips were necessary to reach a 20 per cent gross margin in the mass market, given batteries accounted for nearly 40 per cent of vehicle costs in his calculation. ⁵

Li said in a media interview in September that Nio had invested more than 2 billion yuan (about $298 million) in battery research and development, Jipian Lab noted in the CnEVPost report. He said at the time that in-house development was focused on long-life large cylindrical cells under the internal R&D plus contract manufacturing model. ¹

From the 46105 reveal to the ET9's CATL pack: specifications that have since changed

Nio unveiled its in-house 46105 large cylindrical cells at Nio Day in December 2023, with plans to use them in a 120-kWh battery pack for its flagship ET9 executive sedan. The specifications announced then included a cell energy density of 292 Wh/kg and support for 5C fast charging, CnEVPost reports, noting a Nio website screenshot showing those stated figures. However, when the ET9 officially launched in December 2024, it instead used a 100-kWh battery pack with CATL prismatic cells. Nio's large cylindrical cell specifications have since changed and are no longer limited to the 46105 format, Jipian Lab said, meaning the earlier announced specifications do not necessarily reflect the latest design. ¹

Futu News, again citing Jipian Lab, adds that the 46105 format replaced the Tesla-style 4680 approach in Nio's announcement, and that Nio's website had shown the cell supporting 5C fast charging with 5 minutes of charging adding 255 km. As with CnEVPost's account, the outlet notes the model designation has since changed and is no longer confined to 46105. ⁴

At a user event on August 7, Li said the 120-kWh battery pack remained under development and would be compatible with all Nio main-brand models, but gave no specific launch date, CnEVPost reports. The status of that pack remains a development-stage programme rather than a confirmed product timing. ¹

Historical context from KrAsia's January 2024 interview-based report: Nio's then vice president of battery systems Zeng Shizhe said the 46105 cell had an internal resistance of 1.6 milliohms, about half that of other large cylindrical cells commonly found in the industry, and that the company had tested practically every large cylindrical battery available on the market. He argued the industry's understanding of large cylindrical cells was still at an early stage. A CATL engineer cited in the same report noted that achieving 5C fast charging with large cylindrical cells requires managing heat dissipation, which is typically handled by radiator coils, a method described as less efficient than the equivalent for square batteries. The report also noted Nio had previously partnered with Svolt on large cylindrical batteries, with the progress of that collaboration unclear. ³

CATL's expanding role across Nio's brands

While the in-house cell project advances slowly, Nio is increasing its purchases of prismatic batteries from CATL (HKEX: 3750), with both Onvo and Firefly now using the supplier's batteries, the Jipian Lab-based report states. In January, Nio and CATL announced a five-year agreement to deepen their strategic partnership, focused on joint development of long-life batteries and technology supporting battery swapping. ¹

The latest result of that partnership is at Firefly. The brand introduced a 60-kWh battery pack on October 23, and CATL confirmed the following day that it uses its Qilin Battery technology, delivering a CLTC range of 560 kilometres, CnEVPost reports. Firefly's existing 42-kWh battery is supplied by Sunwoda (SZSE: 300207), so the CATL pack broadens the brand's supplier base. These figures apply to the Chinese-market Firefly; no Australian application of this pack or of Nio's in-house cells has been announced in the available reporting. ¹⁶

The strategy contrasts with a domestic peer's direction: CnEVPost notes Li Auto is moving the other way, shifting its batteries from CATL to in-house developed cells produced by its joint venture with Sunwoda, under a system it launched on October 20 with lifetime battery safety pledges. Cenyavto's account likewise highlights the divergence between Nio's outsourced-production approach and Li Auto's shift toward self-produced cells. ¹²

What the year-end batch does and does not mean

The reported year-end output is described as a very small batch, not the start of volume production. Jipian Lab's reporting, as carried by CnEVPost and echoed by Futu News and Cenyavto, is consistent that near-term mass production remains challenging. The arrangement continues Nio's stated approach of advancing its own cell technology through internal R&D while depending on external suppliers, principally CATL, to support current vehicle deliveries. ¹⁴²

Because the cell specifications are no longer tied to the 46105 format, the earlier announced figures of 292 Wh/kg and 5C fast charging cannot be treated as the current design's confirmed numbers. Buyers of Nio vehicles today receive CATL or Sunwoda packs depending on brand and model, and any future use of the in-house cells remains linked to the still-developing 120-kWh pack, for which no launch date has been given. ¹