Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li has renewed his criticism of China’s growing electric vehicle weights, warning that the industry’s push for larger battery packs could increase road maintenance costs and place additional pressure on public infrastructure.
Speaking at the automotive industry night forum of the 2026 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, on Thursday, Li questioned the long-term consequences of fitting vehicles with increasingly heavy batteries.
“Some cars are packed with 120-kWh batteries weighing 700 to 800 kilograms. The weight doesn’t matter much to the car itself, but has anyone calculated the impact on the roads?”
Li cited road engineering research suggesting that a 20% increase in vehicle weight can produce approximately 107% more pavement damage.
“At 1.2 times the weight, the damage to the road is 2.07 times,”
The calculation follows the fourth-power law used in road engineering, which estimates pavement damage based on the fourth power of axle load. Under this relationship, a 20% increase in axle load results in roughly 2.07 times the damage.
Battery Weight Shapes Nio’s Technology Strategy
Li made the remarks during a public discussion with Eric Li, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. It was their first public dialogue since the two companies announced a comprehensive strategic partnership covering charging and battery swapping on September 28.
The discussion focused on battery lifespan and energy replenishment strategies, with vehicle weight emerging as a key consideration.
Li said Nio’s battery packs generally weigh between 400 kg and 500 kg. Keeping battery weight relatively low requires the company to accept limitations in battery capacity and driving range while pursuing improvements within those constraints.
“Will we be rewarded for doing this? I don’t know,”
he said.
The executive has repeatedly raised concerns about the industry’s growing reliance on larger batteries. During a livestream on July 6, 2025, he argued that heavier vehicles cause more damage to roads and noted that several countries impose taxes based on vehicle weight.
At this year’s Beijing Auto Show, Li also said Nio operates an internal approval process for vehicle weight targets, requiring his personal authorization for every additional kilogram.
In a May interview with Yicai, he warned that widespread adoption of heavier vehicles could create significant infrastructure challenges.
“if China’s more than 300 million vehicles all become heavy vehicles, the roads will be crushed,”
He called for national-level restrictions on vehicle weight, arguing that the absence of coordinated guidance could encourage excessive competition among automakers.
Reducing Vehicle Weight Comes at a Cost
Li has also highlighted the engineering and financial challenges of making electric vehicles lighter.
In a June interview, he said reducing a smart EV’s weight from two tonnes to 1.9 tonnes is relatively straightforward. However, the cost of removing additional weight increases significantly as development progresses.
During the final stages of vehicle development, he estimated that eliminating just one kilogram could cost approximately 1,000 yuan ($149).
Average Weight of Chinese Vehicles Continues to Rise
Vehicle weight has become a broader concern across China’s automotive industry as larger batteries, additional equipment and increasingly sophisticated vehicle technologies add mass.
Data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that the average curb weight of new passenger cars reached 1,704 kg in 2024, compared with 1,312 kg in 2012.
The trend has continued in the new energy vehicle segment. Average curb weight for passenger NEVs reached 1,939.3 kg during the first four months of 2026, according to Yicai.
China Introduces Stricter EV Energy Consumption Requirements
Chinese regulators have begun addressing vehicle efficiency through new technical requirements.
An electric vehicle energy consumption limit standard that took effect on January 1, 2026, introduced mandatory electricity consumption limits linked to vehicle curb weight. The standard is described as the world’s first mandatory regulation of its kind, with stricter thresholds applying to vehicles weighing more than 2,710 kg.
The requirements are approximately 11% tighter than the previous recommended standard. For an EV weighing around two tonnes, electricity consumption must not exceed 15.1 kWh per 100 km.
According to the reported estimates, technical improvements under the new requirements could increase average driving range by around 7% without increasing battery capacity.
Chinese authorities are also studying potential reforms to vehicle taxation based on weight, Yicai reported. Such measures could add another policy dimension to the debate over battery size, vehicle efficiency and the infrastructure costs associated with heavier electric cars.