NIO and JAC Joint Venture Dissolved, NIO Begins Independent Manufacturing

NIO and JAC’s joint venture has been officially dissolved, marking the end of the contract manufacturing model and enabling NIO to fully pursue independent production.

On June 10, Jianglai Advanced Manufacturing Technology (Anhui) Co., Ltd. announced its deregistration filing, citing “resolution to dissolve” as the reason. The public announcement period will last until July 24.

The company was established in March 2021 as a 50:50 joint venture between NIO Holdings and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC Group), with a registered capital of 510 million yuan ($71.4 million). It focused on vehicle manufacturing and supply chain management services. The dissolution of this entity marks the formal end of the nine-year manufacturing partnership between NIO and JAC.

The partnership began in April 2016 when NIO, which had not yet obtained a production license, chose JAC to contract manufacture its early models such as the ES8 and ES6, with vehicles required to carry the “JAC Motors” badge on the rear. This approach allowed NIO to rapidly achieve mass production. By the end of 2023, JAC had manufactured over 300,000 NIO vehicles. In 2021, the two companies deepened their collaboration by establishing Jianglai Advanced Manufacturing Technology to integrate production technologies and supply chain resources.

However, as NIO’s own manufacturing capabilities improved, the contract manufacturing model became increasingly redundant. In late 2023, NIO acquired the production equipment and assets of two JAC factories in Hefei—the Xinqiao F2 plant and the First Manufacturing Base—for 3.16 billion yuan ($442 million), and officially secured its independent production license. Starting in April 2024, new NIO models no longer carried the “JAC Motors” badge, marking the complete autonomy of NIO’s manufacturing operations.

The core reason behind the joint venture’s dissolution is NIO’s strategic pursuit of operational closure. NIO’s founder William Li has explicitly stated that independent production could reduce the manufacturing cost per vehicle by 10%, a crucial factor for a company whose accumulated losses exceed 100 billion yuan ($14 billion).

Under the contract manufacturing model, NIO not only paid substantial fees—more than 3 billion yuan ($420 million) between 2018 and 2022—but also faced supply chain management challenges. JAC’s “strong-mandated supply chain” approach led to inflated costs and quality control risks. With independent production, NIO expects to optimize its supply chain and support its multi-brand strategy (including the Onvo and Firefly brands), targeting a gross margin of over 15%.

Although their manufacturing partnership has ended, NIO and JAC continue to collaborate in other areas. In January 2024, the two companies signed a battery-swapping strategic agreement, with JAC potentially becoming a partner in NIO’s swap station network. Meanwhile, JAC is shifting resources toward its collaboration with HIMA on the “MAEXTRO” brand, whose first model, the S800, began production in May.

The dissolution of this joint venture marks a pivotal moment for China’s new energy vehicle startups, signifying a transition from “manufacturing outsourcing” to “full value-chain independence.”