Weineng (Wuhan) Battery Technology Co., Ltd. was established with a registered capital of RMB 700 million ($102 million) yesterday, wholly owned by Wuhan Weineng Battery Asset Co., Ltd., according to a Chinese corporate registry platform Tianyancha. The new entity’s business scope includes battery leasing, electric vehicle charging infrastructure operations and battery manufacturing, marking a clear expansion from asset management into technology and operations. NIO-Backed Weineng sets up battery tech unit with $102 Million capital, Tianyancha shows As the world’s first battery asset management company built around the battery-as-a-service model, Weineng was founded in August 2020 by NIO, CATL and other partners. In recent years, Weineng’s core activities have focused on battery ownership, leasing and circulation management, effectively providing financial and operational support for battery swapping systems. However, as scale expands, the model is placing increasing demands on technical capabilities. Weineng currently manages more than 600,000 power batteries across multiple brands including NIO, ONVO and Firefly. At the same time, the battery swapping network continues to grow, with a cumulative total of 8,766 charging and swapping stations, including 3,795 battery swapping stations. NIO Power layout in China As both battery volume and swap frequency increase, reliance solely on financial and operational models is becoming insufficient. In this context, the establishment of a battery technology company represents a necessary extension. Battery consistency, state-of-health evaluation, lifecycle prediction and safety management directly affect asset value and turnover efficiency. The timing also aligns with Weineng’s recent financing and investment activity. In February, the company completed a C3 funding round of RMB 1 billion ($145 million), bringing total Series C financing close to RMB 2 billion ($290 million). In March, Weineng signed a battery infrastructure investment project worth approximately RMB 9.8 billion ($1.42 billion) with Wuhan Optics Valley, followed by the issuance of its first green asset-backed notes totaling RMB 1 billion ($145 million). The rapid deployment of capital and projects provides a foundation for expanding its technical capabilities. Notably, on the same day, NIO established a wholly-owned subsidiary, Jieshou NIO New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., with business scope covering AI and integrated circuit chips.