Three Major Positive Developments! This asset class is heating up!
In the world of new energy vehicles, significant news has emerged today. In the early trading session, the most popular sector was undoubtedly charging stations. Stocks such as Fute Technology, Yingkerui, and Jinguang Co. surged to their daily limits, each gaining 20%. Other companies like Aotuxun, Jingquanhua, Taiyong Changzheng, and Tongda Electric also hit their limits. Notably, Zhongrong Electric, Yingfeng Environment, Shuangjie Electric, and Luneng Huichong exhibited significant fluctuations. Following this, shares of NIO and Li Auto on the Hong Kong market saw substantial increases, with NIO rising over 16% and Li Auto surging nearly 9% at one point.
Today’s good news for new energy vehicles is abundant. NIO has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CATL, which is moving forward with a strategic investment not exceeding 2.5 billion RMB in NIO Energy. The head of autonomous driving research at Li Auto announced that their MindVLA technology can transform vehicles into intelligent entities capable of thinking. BYD recently introduced its “Megawatt Flash Charge” technology at a press conference on March 17. This technology can achieve a maximum charging voltage of 1000V, a maximum charging current of 1000A, a maximum charging multiplier of 10C, and a peak charging power of 1MW. It can charge up to 407 kilometers in just 5 minutes, with a peak charging speed of 2 kilometers per second.
Recently, various regions have accelerated the construction of charging stations. NIO has partnered with CATL to enhance their collaboration. On the evening of March 17, NIO and CATL signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Ningde, Fujian. The two companies will establish a battery swap network covering the entire range of passenger vehicles, unify industry technology standards, and deepen capital and business cooperation to provide more efficient energy solutions for users, leading the new energy vehicle industry toward a new stage of high-quality development.
As part of the agreement, CATL is promoting a strategic investment of up to 2.5 billion RMB in NIO Energy, further solidifying their strategic partnership. Through technology sharing, capital, and business cooperation, they aim to achieve an industry contribution that exceeds the sum of its parts. The signing was represented by NIO’s Senior Vice President Shen Fei and CATL’s Battery Swap Business General Manager Yang Jun. Witnesses included NIO founder and CEO Li Bin and CATL founder and CEO Zeng Yuqun, along with other executives from both companies.
According to the agreement, the two companies will leverage their advantages in technology, management, platforms, and brand resources to create the world’s largest and most advanced battery swap service network for passenger vehicles, responding to national new energy vehicle development strategies. They will deepen the sharing of battery swap networks and promote the popularization and upgrading of battery swap services based on unified battery standards. CATL will support the development of NIO’s battery swap network, and future models under NIO’s Firefly brand will incorporate CATL’s chocolate battery swap standards and networks.
The battery swap network will adopt a “dual network” approach, providing a more convenient and efficient battery swap experience for users and further enhancing the convenience of electric travel.
As a result of this news, NIO’s stock price on the Hong Kong market surged, increasing by 16% by midday. Meanwhile, Li Auto is also making strides. On March 18, Li Auto’s head of autonomous driving technology development Jia Peng delivered a keynote speech at the NVIDIA GTC 2025, announcing the progress of their next-generation autonomous driving technology, MindVLA. Jia stated that MindVLA will transform cars from mere transportation tools into attentive personal drivers that can understand, see, and locate. “We hope MindVLA will endow vehicles with cognitive and adaptive abilities similar to those of humans, turning them into thinking intelligent agents,” he said.
Li Auto CEO Li Xiang described MindVLA as a large model that integrates spatial intelligence, language intelligence, and behavioral intelligence, equipping autonomous driving with perception, reasoning, and environmental adaptation capabilities. He emphasized that MindVLA will redefine autonomous driving, just as the iPhone 4 redefined smartphones.
Merrill Lynch has reiterated a “Buy” rating for Li Auto (02015), raising the target price from 121 HKD to 125 HKD, taking into account new free cash flow forecasts. The firm noted that Li Auto maintains strong gross margin management and solid free cash flow.
As the market focus gradually shifts, today, it’s all about charging stations. High-voltage fast-charging concept stocks were active at the opening, with Aotuxun hitting its daily limit, and other stocks such as Yonggui Electric, Shenghong Co., Zhongrong Electric, Taiyong Changzheng, and Luneng Huichong opening over 5% higher, with some stocks firmly closing at their limits. At the recent BYD Super E-Platform technology release on March 17, Chairman Wang Chuanfu announced the “Megawatt Flash Charge” technology, stating that it can achieve a maximum charging voltage of 1000V, a maximum charging current of 1000A, a maximum charging multiplier of 10C, and a peak charging power of 1MW. He further emphasized that the charging speed could match that of traditional fuel vehicles.
