NIO founder William Li renewed his criticism of heavy battery packs at the 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit on November 5, arguing that a 20 percent increase in vehicle weight can more than double the damage a car does to roads. He spoke at the Auto Night Talk forum alongside Geely Holding Group Chairman Li Shufu. It was their first public appearance together since the two companies signed a strategic cooperation agreement on charging and battery swapping on September 28.
Weight and Road Wear
Li said some vehicles fit battery packs of up to 120 kWh that weigh 700 to 800 kilograms. “Weight isn’t a big deal for the car itself, but has anyone calculated the impact on the road?” he asked. He said a 20 percent weight increase raises road damage to 2.07 times the previous level.
The figure follows a principle used in road engineering, known as the fourth-power law. It holds that road damage rises in proportion to the fourth power of axle load. Raising load by 20 percent, or 1.2 times, produces roughly 2.07 times the damage (1.2 to the fourth power). Li argued that this increase would significantly raise road maintenance costs.
NIO, he said, generally keeps its battery packs at 400 to 500 kilograms. That choice means accepting smaller battery capacity and shorter range, but it keeps vehicle weight lower. “Will we be rewarded for this? I don’t know either,” Li said.
A Repeated Concern
Li has raised the issue several times. In a July 2025 livestream, he noted that many countries base vehicle taxes on weight. He later said NIO requires approval for the weight target of every model, with each additional kilogram needing his sign-off. In May 2026, he called for national limits on vehicle weight, warning that “without national-level guidance, the industry will engage in disorderly competition.”
Average Vehicle Weights Are Rising
Official data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows the trend across the industry. The table below summarizes the key figures.
| Measure | 2012 | 2024 | January to April 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average curb weight of new passenger cars | 1,312 kg | 1,704 kg | Not provided |
| Average curb weight of new energy passenger vehicles | Not provided | Not provided | 1,939.3 kg |
Between 2012 and 2024, the average curb weight of new passenger cars rose by nearly 400 kilograms. New energy vehicles are heavier still. Based on vehicle insurance registration data, their average curb weight in the first four months of 2026 was 27.5 percent higher than in 2020. The increase from 2020 to 2024 alone was larger than the rise recorded from 2012 to 2020.
Regulators Respond
Rules on vehicle weight are tightening. The national standard “Energy Consumption Limits for Electric Vehicles, Part 1: Passenger Cars” took effect on January 1, 2026. It ties energy consumption limits to curb weight for the first time, with stricter thresholds for models above 2,710 kilograms. On the same day, the purchase tax on new energy vehicles changed from an exemption to a halved rate. Reports also indicate that regulators are studying a tax system based on vehicle weight.
A separate mandatory standard sets a maximum permissible gross mass of 4,500 kilograms for passenger cars. Current models have not reached that limit, though some are approaching it.
Battery Lifespan and Swapping
Li also addressed the mismatch between battery life and vehicle life. He noted that the industry benchmark for power batteries is 70 percent health retention after 8 years or 160,000 kilometers. He asked what happens after 200,000 kilometers, when a vehicle may still have five or six years of use but battery health declines sharply and safety risks increase. He said he weighed this problem between 2012 and 2014 before choosing battery swapping, which can separate battery replacement from the rest of the car’s 15-year lifespan.
Industry Implications
The discussion highlights two issues for the new energy vehicle sector. The first is whether refueling systems, including battery swapping, can support full-lifecycle battery management. The second is whether building range through larger batteries shifts costs onto roads, tax revenue and safety. As vehicle weight becomes a public policy matter as well as an engineering question, lightweighting is increasingly seen as a challenge for the whole industry rather than a single company’s preference.
