BYD to Supply NIO and Xiaomi Auto With Batteries

The power batteries division of Shenzhen-based technology firm BYD, FinDreams Battery, is actively exploring opportunities in the Chinese new energy vehicle market, including with firms NIO and Xiaomi Auto, according to several sources cited by domestic media outlet 36Kr. The aforementioned three companies all replied that there is no related information to be disclosed at present.

“The designated cooperation between NIO and FinDreams Battery had been finalized before the Spring Festival, using BYD’s ferrous lithium phosphate battery,” the source said. In addition, it is revealed that in the second half of 2021, many NIO employees frequently visited BYD Company Limited located in Pingshan district, Shenzhen.

At the same time, Xiaomi Auto, a new car-manufacturing company that has attracted widespread attention in the industry, has also signed a designated cooperation agreement with FinDreams Battery. According to the report, the company’s first car has planned models with two sets of configurations. The low-end model uses a voltage platform of 400V, planning to use BYD’s blade batteries while the high-end model uses a voltage platform of 800V. This latter may use the products of leading Chinese battery firm, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL), but the details of this cooperation have not yet been finalized.

In the industry, automobile companies typically send a letter of intent to suppliers expressing their clear cooperation goals. They will then start a series of verification tests on the products and make purchases in batches, if there are no major problems.

NIO‘s power batteries were exclusively supplied by CATL previously, but Li Bin, the head of the company, publicly stated that the battery had become a limiting factor for its production capacity. It has become a common practice in the industry to seek more suppliers to ensure manufacturing output.

SEE ALSO: BYD Blade Battery to Enter India in Partnership With Toyota

BYD, which is one of the few car-making companies that can produce its own power batteries, has promoted the continuous iteration of new energy vehicle models and the continuous introduction of new products through self-developed blade batteries. This has given the firm an edge in the market, making it one of the top-performing firms in terms of 2021 sales.

In addition, rumors that the company is supplying batteries to Tesla have been circulating widely across the industry. In August 2021, it was reported that the company would supply Tesla with blade batteries in the second quarter of 2022. According to these claims, Tesla models equipped with blade batteries had entered the C-sample test stage. It was then revealed that BYD had obtained an order from Tesla for 10GWh batteries, although the company made no comment on this matter.