China’s NIO (NIO) just received a $470 million cash investment as it prepares for its next growth stage. With the new funding and the launch of its low-cost Onvo brand, NIO is laying the groundwork to accelerate sales.
NIO gets significant cash injection to propel EV growth
NIO China, the subsidiary of NIO, announced the new cash investment on Sunday. The EV maker is receiving a total of RMB 3.3 billion ($470 million) in funding from three investors.
The statement said that Hefei Jianheng New Energy Automobile Investment Fund Partnership, Anhui Provincial Emerging Industry Investment Co, and GS Capital will invest nearly half a billion in NIO China for newly issued shares.
The cash investment will be deployed in two installments. About 70% will be invested by the end of November 2024, while the remaining 30% will be made by the end of December 2024.
With an “enhanced balance sheet,” NIO said it’s “strategically positioned” with long-term advantages in tech, products, services, and its user community.
Following the transaction, NIO will hold 88.3% of NIO China shares, down from 92.1% currently.
In addition, NIO’s parent company has the right to invest an additional RMB 20 billion ($2.9 billion) in NIO China by December 31, 2025.
NIO Onvo L60 electric SUV models (Source: NIO Onvo)
NIO stock is on the rise
NIO will use the new cash investment to support its new multi-brand strategy, expand into new markets, and propel it into its next stage of sustained growth.
The L60 electric SUV, the first vehicle under NIO’s new low-cost Onvo brand, launched earlier this month.
NIO Onvo L60 electric SUV (Source: Onvo)
Starting at just $21,200 (249,900 yuan), the L60 is widely expected to be a true rival to Tesla’s top-selling Model Y.
Since launching the Onvo L60, NIO’s stock has surged over 70% in the past month. However, share prices are still down 17% in 2024 and over 85% from their all-time high of over $62 per share in February 2021. Following the news, NIO’s stock is trading at just under $7 per share.
NIO (NYSE: NIO) stock chart October 2023 through October 2024 (Source: TradingView)
NIO has received several upgrades and praise following the launch of its new electric SUV. Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin’s team said in a note to investors last week that the L60 paves the way for a “brand revival.”
Bin’s team claimed initial dealer feedback has been “very strong.” As a result, they are increasing monthly delivery guidance to 10,000 from 8,000.
NIO Onvo L60 vs Tesla Model Y trims
Range (CLTC)
Starting Price
NIO Onvo L60 (Battery rental)
555 km (341 mi) 730 km (454 mi)
149,900 yuan ($21,200)
NIO Onvo L60 (60 kWh)
555 km (341 mi)
206,900 yuan ($29,300)
NIO Onvo L60 (85 kWh)
730 km (454 mi)
235,900 yuan ($33,400)
NIO Onvo L60 (150 kWh)
+1,000 km (+621 mi)
TBD
Tesla Model Y RWD
554 km (344 mi)
249,900 yuan ($34,600)
Tesla Model Y AWD Long Range
688 km (427 mi)
290,900 yuan ($40,300)
Tesla Model Y AWD Performance
615 km (382 mi)
354,900 yuan ($49,100)
NIO Onvo L60 vs Tesla Model Y in China
In a new research note sent to investors on Sunday (via CnEVPost), the team said the new funding “reduces some investor concerns on the immediate share dilution” in NIO stock. Bin’s team expects NIO share price to “react positively” following the new cash injection.
After delivering another 20,176 vehicles last month, NIO has crossed the 20,000 sales mark for four consecutive months as it builds momentum.
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Germany’s largest offshore wind farm under construction, EnBW’s He Dreiht, just hit a big milestone: The first enormous turbine is now up in the North Sea.
He Dreiht – which means “it spins” in Low German – is using Vestas’s massive 15 megawatt (MW) turbines, the first project in the world to install them. Just one spin of one of the rotors can generate enough electricity to power four households for an entire day.
When it’s finished, He Dreiht will have 64 mega turbines cranking out 960 megawatts (MW) of clean power – enough to supply around 1.1 million homes. And it’s being built without any government subsidies.
EnBW, one of Germany’s major energy companies, has been working in offshore wind for more than 15 years, but He Dreiht is their biggest project yet. “It will play a key role in helping us to significantly grow our renewable energy output from 6.6 GW to over 10 GW by 2030,” said Michael Class, who heads up EnBW’s generation portfolio development.
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The project is a win for Vestas, too. “With the installation of the first V236-15.0 MW, we have reached an important milestone for both the He Dreiht project and our offshore ramp-up, which helps Germany build a more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy system,” said Nils de Baar, president of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.
He Dreiht is located about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northwest of Borkum and 110 kilometers (68 miles) west of Helgoland. At peak times, more than 500 workers will be out at sea building the farm, using a fleet of more than 60 ships. EnBW’s offshore team in Hamburg is running the show.
The installation process is a major operation. The 64 foundations were already set in the seabed last year. Parts for the turbines are loaded onto the installation vessel Wind Orca in Esbjerg, Denmark, and shipped out in a 12-hour journey to the construction site. From there, the turbines are lifted into place. Meanwhile, crews are also working on internal wind farm cabling.
A partner consortium made up of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP, and Norges Bank Investment Management owns 49.9% of the shares in He Dreiht.
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Tesla has released a quick update about its Tesla Semi factory in Nevada. It says that it is on track for volume production of the electric semi truck in 2026.
The Tesla Semi was first scheduled to go into production in 2019, but it has faced numerous delays.
Now, it appears that there is finally some momentum to bring it to volume production.
For the last two years, Tesla has been working to build a new factory next to Gigafactory Nevada, where it builds the battery packs and drive units for most of its electric vehicles built in North America.
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Today, Tesla released a “progress update on the factory, confirming that it finished building and it’s now working on deploying the production lines:
Tesla had previously mentioned aiming for volume production by 2025, but it is now only talking about starting production toward the end of the year and ramping up next year.
The automaker reiterated its planned production capacity of 50,000 units.
They now expect to take deliveries of their first trucks later in 2026 and said that the price has increased “dramatically,” leading them to scale back their pilot program from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks.
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2022. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
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Vietnamese solar panel maker Boviet Solar just opened the doors to its first US factory — a huge new PV module plant in Greenville, North Carolina.
The company dropped $294 million into the state-of-the-art facility, which will pump out Boviet’s Gamma Series monofacial and Vega Series bifacial solar panels. They’re using advanced PERC and N-Type solar cell tech, which basically means these panels are built to deliver higher efficiency and better performance across residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-scale projects.
The Greenville factory’s first phase is now online with an annual PV module output capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW). For Phase 2, which is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2026, Boviet will invest another $100 million to add 600,000 square feet and ramp up to another 2 GW. It will make high-efficiency solar cells.
Once both phases are complete, Boviet’s campus will cover more than 1 million square feet of manufacturing and R&D space. It’s one of the biggest clean energy manufacturing projects North Carolina has ever seen.
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The jobs impact is significant, too. The first phase will create 460 skilled local jobs. Phase 2 is expected to add another 908, bringing the total to over 1,300 direct jobs, plus nearly 2,000 more indirect jobs across the region. That’s good news for Pitt County’s economy, real estate market, and workforce training programs.
“This facility is not just creating jobs, but creating opportunity, innovation, and a stronger foundation for eastern North Carolina,” said Senator Kandie Smith. Governor Josh Stein added that Boviet Solar’s move shows how North Carolina is leading the way in clean energy growth.
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