Yiwei, the EV brand of Chinese automaker JAC, has started delivering its first sodium-ion battery-powered vehicle in Anqing, Anhui Province, Kallanish learns. 

According to the Anhui Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the Huaxianzi is the first mass-delivered vehicle model using sodium-ion power batteries in the world. 

The BEV is equipped with 32140 sodium-ion cylindrical battery cells supplied by Chinese leading sodium-ion battery company HiNa Battery. The cells have a single unit capacity of 12 ampere-hours and an energy density of at least 140 watt-hours/kilogram. It adopts copper-based layered oxide and hard carbon to achieve the advantages of high safety, high energy density, decent low-temperature performance, and long cycle life, the manufacturer claims.

The battery packs also adopt the honeycomb-like safe structure. The entire battery pack has a capacity of 23.2 kilowatt-hours, the mileage range under the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC) reaches 230 kilometres, and the power consumption level per 100 km is close to 10 kWh.

As a low-cost power battery product, this sodium-ion battery has greater advantages in low-temperature performance compared to lithium-iron phosphate batteries. It can maintain a 92% capacity retention rate under a low-temperature environment of -20°C. Even in extremely cold areas, battery life degradation in winter is said to be “negligible.” It only takes about 20 minutes to charge the entire car from 10% to 80%, and 15 minutes from 30% to 80%.

In the second half of 2024, JAC Yinwei will launch a sodium-ion battery-powered model with a 300-km mileage range. 

On Tuesday, battery manufacturer Farasis Energy said China’s EV sector is entering a transformative phase with the introduction of vehicles running on sodium-ion batteries. Its products are now featured in the JMEC EV3 model, which entered mass production on 28 December 2023. (See related story)