Nio’s 925V electric drive system has won First Prize at the 2026 China Society of Automotive Engineers (China-SAE) Science and Technology Progress Awards, recognising advances in motor design, manufacturing and charging technology.
The award was presented on Oct 28 for a project led by Nio in collaboration with Tongji University, Harbin University of Science and Technology and Baoshan Iron & Steel.
According to Nio, the system achieves a motor power density of 19.06 kW/kg and controller power density of 226.92 kW/L.
A key feature is its ability to reuse the motor windings and associated power electronics to boost DC charging voltage, with a claimed peak boost-charging power of 202.78 kW.
This allows lower-voltage DC chargers to supply electricity to vehicles equipped with higher-voltage battery systems without requiring a separate dedicated voltage-boost converter.
The system employs continuous-wave copper windings, also known as W-Pin technology, which reduces the number of electrical joints compared with conventional segmented windings.
Nio said its engineers overcame manufacturing challenges involving winding insulation, thermal management and compact component integration to bring the technology into mass production.
Development began in 2015, with the company progressing through four generations of electric drive technology.
The award-winning technology is already used in several production vehicles, including the Nio ET9, ES8 and ES9, alongside the Onvo L90 and L80.
Nio said its electric drive development programme has secured 146 authorised patents and contributed to six Chinese national standards.
