$NIO Inc(NIO.US)$$NIO-SW(09866.HK)$$NIO Inc. USD OV(NIO.SG)$ has incorporated a new arm that could possibly aid the Chinese electric vehicle maker's efforts to manufacture smartphones, CnEVPost reported on Thursday.
What Happened: The company has set up Nio Mobile Technologies Co Ltd with a registered capital of $100 million, as per the report, which cited data provider Qichacha.
Qin Lihong, the co-founder and president of NIO, is reportedly the legal representative of the division with a registered office in Anting, Shanghai — the same place where Nio's global headquarters is located.
It is fully owned by NIO Nextev Limited, registered in Hong Kong, according to CnEVPost.
Business Scope: The firm would be involved in sales of electronic products, mobile devices, wearable devices, artificial intelligence hardware, and communication devices, and technology development and software development, the report stated.
Why It Matters: Nio chairman and CEO William Li, according to media reports, had said in March that his company was in the research phase of making phones.
Li had later reportedly told a group of Nio owners in the Fujian province that the EV firm would develop one phone every year, like $Apple(AAPL.US)$.
The report cited a Weibo blogger saying the NIO phone will be cheaper than iPhone and is likely to cost over RMB7,000 ($1,040).
Nio is considered a rival to $Tesla(TSLA.US)$, $XPENG-W(09868.HK)$ and other key EV makers.
Price Action: U.S. shares of Nio ended 2.9% higher at $20.9 on Thursday and rose 0.3% in extended trading.