The device is expected to be available for pre-order in mid-June for RMB 3,880 ($580), with deliveries expected to begin in late July.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866, SGX: Nio) yesterday unveiled a home mobile charger that also allows vehicles to discharge electricity to other vehicles or appliances.

The product, which the company had planned to provide convenience to users, has unexpectedly brought backlash because it only allows rental but not purchase.

After receiving a lot of such feedback from users, executives including Shen Fei, senior vice president of Nio Power, arranged an online salon on Monday evening to communicate with car owners about the issue.

"It was wrong previously to offer a rent-only model, and we sincerely apologize to everyone. We will immediately add the purchase option, which can be rented or purchased, and users will choose at their discretion according to their needs," Shen said in the salon.

Nio will allow users to purchase the mobile charger in addition to its previous rental model, according to an article posted today on the company's mobile app.

The device is expected to be available for pre-sale on Nio's online store in mid-June for RMB 3,880 ($580), with deliveries expected to begin in late July.

In addition to paying in cash, users can also use their Nio Credits to pay, though they can only use up to 10,000 of those digital credits, which is equivalent to RMB 1,000.

Nio's rental policy for the device remains the same at RMB 168 per week and is expected to begin trial operations in the first cities at the end of July and nationwide in China at the end of August.

The company received a lot of negative feedback after it released the device yesterday with a rental-only option.

The device's capacity growth was slow in the early stages, and given the low-frequency demand associated with it, Nio wanted to offer users rentals at battery swap stations, William Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a response to the Nio app yesterday.