As per two people familiar with the matter, Nio intends to build its first battery plant to produce large cylindrical cells similar to those used by Tesla, as the Chinese EV maker seeks to reduce its reliance on suppliers such as CATL.

According to the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the matter is private, the new plant will have an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh) of batteries, which can power approximately 400,000 units of long-range electric vehicles (EVs).

It will be located near its main manufacturing hub in Hefei, Anhui Province, eastern China, they said.

For the first time, sources have revealed the specifics of Nio's plan. On Friday, the automaker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nio's founder and Chairman, William Li, stated in June that the company would begin producing 800-volt lithium-ion battery packs, which recharge faster, in the second half of 2024, as part of a long-term plan similar to Tesla's to use a combination of self-produced and externally sourced batteries.

He didn't go into specifics at the time.