JAC Motors, a Chinese automaker that is part of the Volkswagen Group, is set to launch the first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) with a lithium-free sodium-ion battery under its new Yiwei brand. While sodium-ion battery technology has a lower density than lithium-ion batteries, it has lower cost, better manufacturing capabilities, and cold weather performance. Sales of the JAC Yiwei EV hatchback will begin in January.
Yiwei is a new brand for JAC, created in 2023. Volkswagen has a 75% stake in (and management control over) JAC and owns 50% of JAC’s parent company, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holdings (JAG). The Chinese government owns the other half, which creates one of the strangest pairs in the automotive industry, Engadget reports.
JAC Motors, a Chinese automaker that is part of the Volkswagen Group, is set to launch the first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) with a sodium-ion battery under its new brand Yiwei. Although sodium-ion battery technology has a lower density (and is less developed) than lithium-ion batteries, their lower cost, greater supply, and superior cold-weather performance could help accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles. CarNewsChina reports that deliveries of the JAC Yiwei EV hatchback will begin in January. Yiwei is a new brand for JAC in 2023. Volkswagen has a 75 percent stake in (and management control over) JAC and owns 50 percent of JAC’s parent company, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holdings (JAG). The Chinese government owns the other half of JAG, creating one of the strangest pairs in the automotive industry.
The Yiwei EV seems to be a rebranded version of the Sehol E10X hatchback (pictured above), announced earlier this year. Sehol has a declared range of 252 km, a capacity of 25 kWh, and a HiNa NaCR32140 cell with an energy density of 120 W*h/kg.
In April, at the Shanghai Auto Show, JAC presented a separate electric car called Yiwei 3. This model entered the market in June with an LFP (lithium iron phosphate) battery, promising that a sodium-ion version would be introduced later.
The new Yiwei EV will use cylindrical sodium-ion cells from HiNA Battery. JAC assembles batteries into a modular UE (Unitized Encapsulation) cell structure, similar to CATL’s CTP (cell-to-pack) and BYD’s Blade. This structure provides greater stability and performance.
