According to reports, Chinese electric car manufacturer NIO has reached an agreement with its peer BYD to use BYD's batteries on its lower-priced electric car brand.

On Monday, NIO Motors launched a new brand website. According to the website, the Chinese name of the new brand is "Ledao" and the English name is "Onvo". Currently, there is limited page information on the Onvo website, with only the line "First model L60, please stay tuned" located in the middle of the webpage. Onvo is a product previously codenamed "Alps" within NIO.

Another car blogger has revealed that the management team of NIO's Onvo Motors will make a public appearance on May 9th, which is expected to bring information such as the responsible person, brand, logo meaning, and Onvo App.

NIO has always been targeting the high-end electric vehicle market and competing with companies such as Mercedes Benz. But the planned new brand is expected to have a price range of 200,000 to 300,000 RMB, which overlaps with Tesla's Model 3/Y.

In the early years, NIO had planned to develop its own batteries for electric vehicles, but in December last year, it was revealed that NIO was divesting its battery business as the company hoped to shift its focus to cost cutting to reverse losses. Currently, most of NIO's batteries are purchased from the battery leader CATL.

It is understood that Onvo will provide two different capacity battery packs for consumers to choose from, namely a 60kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack and a 90kWh ternary lithium battery pack. These two battery packs are provided by BYD and CATL respectively. Moreover, the new battery pack size will be compatible with NIO's third-generation battery swapping stations, and the thickness will become thinner, freeing up more space for the vehicle's cabin.

Insiders also stated that BYD will collaborate with CATL to provide a smaller battery pack for a version of the LeDao electric vehicle. In addition, another Chinese battery manufacturer, CALB (one of NIO's battery suppliers), will provide the brand with 85 kilowatt hour battery packs.

The cooperation with NIO will be an important progress for BYD to expand its battery footprint. BYD has always hoped to expand its self-developed batteries beyond its own branded electric vehicles.

Currently, BYD has supplied some batteries to Tesla's Berlin factory and Chinese state-owned automakers, including FAW, through its battery division FinDreams Battery.

However, most BYD batteries are used for their own electric vehicles. According to the battery industry information provider GGII, BYD only sold 5% of its batteries to external customers in 2023.

There are reports that BYD has been renovating its battery pack production line at its factory in Wuwei City, Anhui Province, in preparation for supplying battery packs to Onvo electric vehicles.