Customers who rent a Nio vehicle for three or more days between May 1-31 will have the chance to experience the 150-kWh battery pack.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) has begun trial operations of the 150-kWh semi-solid battery pack, with official operations of the ultra-long-range battery pack set to begin a month later.

Trial operations of the 150-kWh battery pack will take place between May 1-31 only for Nio Destination, Nio's destination car rental service, according to a statement posted today on the Nio App.

Customers who rent a Nio vehicle for three days or more during May 1-31 will have the chance to experience the 150-kWh battery pack, according to the statement.

During the trial period, the 150-kWh battery pack will be randomly available on different models in different cities, according to the company.

Lucky customers who get a model with the 150-kWh battery pack will not have to pay extra for the extra-long range battery pack.

The 150-kWh battery pack will become officially operational on June 1, when Nio owners will be able to rent the pack on a daily basis.

For the standard 75-kWh battery pack, the base price for the 150-kWh battery pack is RMB 150 ($21) per day for the first seven days, and RMB 100 per day for the 100-kWh model.

After 7 days, customers renting the 150-kWh battery pack will need to pay an additional RMB 50 per day.

For most users, the 70/75kWh packs are sufficient for regular trips, and only in rare cases will the 150-kWh pack be used, Nio said.

With the flexible upgradeable daily rental program, users don't need to pay high battery costs for extreme scenarios of travel needs, and can experience the value of Nio's chargeable, swappable, and upgradeable at a much lower cost, it said.

Due to reasons including cost and manufacturing, the 150-kWh battery pack is initially under-supplied and can only be rented in a way that maximizes the efficiency of battery utilization and allows more people to experience the pack, Nio said.

China will celebrate the Labor Day holiday from May 1-5 and is expected to see a spike in people traveling.

Nio announced the 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery when it unveiled the ET7 sedan at the January 9, 2021 Nio Day 2020 event.

The semisolid battery's cells come from local startup Beijing WeLion New Energy Technology, which began delivering 360 Wh/kg lithium battery cells on June 30, 2023, to Nio.

Due to the new technology, the 150-kWh battery pack is currently costly, with Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong mentioning in February 2023 that the pack costs about the same as an ET5.

The ET5 is Nio's least expensive model at the moment, with a starting price of RMB 298,000 ($41,200) including the battery.

Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said on April 8 that the 150-kWh battery pack saw some output and was expected to be in service starting in late April.

On December 18, 2023, Li drove a 2023 ET7 with a 150-kWh semi-solid-state battery in a range challenge, with 36 kilometers of remaining CLTC range after 1,044 kilometers of driving.

Earlier this month, Nio tested the ET7's range with the 150-kWh battery on three routes in its latest range challenge, achieving 1,070 kilometers, 1,062 kilometers, and 1,046 kilometers, respectively.

($1 = RMB 7.2462)

Nio ET7 with 150-kWh battery achieves 1,070 km in real-life range challenge