Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio is offering owners who purchased vehicles through its Battery as a Service (BaaS) model in China the option to buy out the power battery packs. This move provides customers with enhanced flexibility, extending beyond the initial choice between purchasing vehicles with included battery packs or opting for the BaaS model.
Under the BaaS program, customers who choose not to own the battery pack benefit from a reduced purchase price, saving a minimum of RMB 70,000 ($9,860). Instead, they pay a monthly rental fee of either RMB 980 or RMB 1,680, depending on the standard or long-range capacity of the battery pack.
The recent introduction of the battery buyout option enables BaaS owners to acquire ownership of the battery pack by paying a specified amount. For a standard-range battery pack (70/75 kWh), the buyout cost is RMB 70,000, while for a long-range battery pack (100 kWh), it amounts to RMB 128,000. Customers interested in replacing the battery with a new one must pay an additional RMB 3,000.
It is worth noting that Nio currently restricts BaaS customers to purchasing battery packs with the same capacity as initially selected during the vehicle purchase. Owners who already acquired a battery pack at the time of purchase are ineligible to purchase a new one.
A notable condition is that, for vehicles with purchase invoice dates on or after January 1, 2024, the option to buy out the battery pack becomes available after one year. This measure seems aimed at preventing misuse of China’s latest new energy vehicle (NEV) purchase tax incentives.
Under the NEV purchase tax incentives announced by China’s Ministry of Finance on June 21, 2023, for NEVs purchased between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025, the exemption from vehicle purchase tax will not exceed RMB 30,000 per vehicle. This means that vehicles priced up to RMB 339,000 will remain exempt from purchase tax.
Moreover, the taxable price for NEVs with separate invoices for the car and battery is determined based on the ex-tax price of the vehicle body. This allows certain higher-priced Nio models to benefit from a lower taxable price by selling the body and battery separately.
