BEIJING, June 24 (TMTPost)— Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc revealed another good news following new funding for its global expansion.

Image Source: Visual China

Nio is testing its phone and its performance is ok, Nio CEO William Li, or Li Bin, responded to a netizen at Chinese Twitter-like social media Weibo, without any details such as specification, pricing or release date. The settings of Li’s Weibo account allowed visitors to see he has been posting with two smartphones --Nio phone and iPhone 14 Pro Max alternately. It seems he is measuring user experience of the tested Nio phone against the iPhone.

This is the latest development of the highly anticipated Nio phone. Nio filed an application in January to register the NIO PHONE trademark, under the classification of scientific instruments of China National Intellectual Property Administration. William Li said in April that his company will launch Nio phone and start delivery in the third quarter of the year.

Nio phone obtained approval from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) as a radio or wireless equipment on Monday. Document at MIIT website showed the phone model, named N2301, is poised to support 2G (GSM), China Unicom 3G (WCDMA), CDMA, China Mobile & China Unicom 4G (TD-LTE / LTE FDD), and 5G network standards, and also enable UWB (ultra-wideband) technology, signaling the phone is expected to function as a digital key for Nio vehicle, or even access to other intelligent devices through a short-range connection.

Earlier this week, Nio got an extra firepower from Middle East. The EV maker announced on Tuesday that CYVN Holdings L.L.C., an investment vehicle majority owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, agreed to subscribe 84,695,543 newly issued Class A ordinary shares for US$8.72 per share, suggesting an investment of US$738.5 million. CYVN also signed an agreement to purchase 40,137,614 Class A ordinary shares owned by an affiliate of Tencent, one of Nio’s existing shareholders. CYNV’s equity investment in Nio through these deals totals about US$1.1 billion.  In addition, CYNV, focusing on advanced and smart mobility, agreed to jointly pursue opportunities in NIo’s international business. The investment will further strengthen Nio’s balance sheet to power its continuous endeavors in accelerating business growth, driving technological innovations and building long-term competitiveness, William Li said.