Just a week after Nio secured a partnership with Changan to share its battery-swapping technology and network, Nio has inked a deal with the Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely) to further grow their networks of battery-swapping systems.
The two companies will partner to co-develop two battery-swapping standards for private cars and commercial vehicles and develop electric vehicles that are compatible with each other’s battery swap systems. Additionally, Nio and Geely will create a unified battery swap operation, an efficient battery asset management mechanism, and expand the scale of battery swapping more broadly, opening it up to more EV owners.
“NIO and Geely share a profound understanding of battery swapping and have been dedicated to the investment in the battery swapping technology and network for private cars and commercial vehicles with rich experience in swapping service and operations,” Nio founder, chairman, and chief executive William Li said. “As a leading company in the Chinese automotive market, Geely Holding’s rapid development in the new energy field is impressive. This strategic partnership will further popularize battery swapping, bring quality and convenient battery swapping experience to more users and contribute to the steady development of the smart EV industry.”
Nio’s partnerships with automotive juggernauts Changan and Geely come as it looks to improve profitability while facing increased competition from other Chinese car companies and Tesla.
Read: Nio Planning An All-Electric Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Rival
Unlike Changan which does not currently have a battery-swapping network, Geely brings plenty of expertise to the table. It already has 300 battery swapping stations in operation and while that’s fewer than the 2,100 that Nio has, Geely has previously committed to establishing 5,000 swapping stations for EVs globally by 2025. It will continue to build out its own network while also working with Nio.
“As one of the most innovative methods for recharging electric vehicles, the future development of battery swapping technology requires the joint efforts of all parties in the industry to advance it,” Geely founder and chairman Eric Li added. “Geely’s Yiyi Power has already achieved good results in many cities and continues to expand across the country.”
