Geely and Nio are officially working together. The two Chinese giants have signed a partnership specifically on this particular technology, of which Nio is the most famous exponent, to collaborate deeply and develop a standard for batteries, as well as to expand and manage the swapping network and the batteries themselves.
Why Geely is focusing on battery swapping
The agreement arises following an increase in the popularity of battery swapping among electric vehicle users in China. In Europe, it has not gained much ground yet, and Nio itself had to revise down its plans for expanding Power Stop stations on the continent.
However, Nio’s success in its home country is due to the fact that it offers perhaps the best charging solution, and now both companies aim to expand their presence, especially in cities. Both Geely and Nio will leverage their respective advantages based on their existing activities: Geely with Nio’s know-how and its extensive station network, and Nio with the batteries, as well as having more funds after a challenging 2023.
In accordance with the agreement and through a “co-investment, joint construction, sharing, cooperative” model, both parties will develop two battery swapping standards for private cars and commercial vehicles, accelerate the development and promotion of battery swapping technology on vehicles, and expand the operational scale of battery swapping to provide more convenient, comprehensive, and secure services for users with diverse need.
Both parties will establish an efficient battery asset management mechanism, build a unified battery swapping operation, and develop interchangeable vehicles compatible between their respective battery swapping systems.
The partnership, in line with China’s development direction towards new infrastructure and new energy, will further standardize battery swapping technology, increase the scale of the battery swapping network, and accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the local automotive industry
