The success of Nio's battery swap-enabled models does not mean the same for all companies selling such models.
Chinese car company Lifan Technology announced on July 13 that it sold zero cars in June and a cumulative total of six units in the first half of the year, down 99.39 percent from a year earlier.
Its cumulative sales of new energy vehicles in the first half were 107 units, down 80.51% year-over-year.
In June, it produced 0 units of traditional passenger cars and 60 units of new energy vehicles.
Its motorcycle sales in June were 47,089 units, up 19.85% year-over-year; cumulative sales in the first half were 277,417 units, up 29.92% year-over-year.
Lifan's main business in the automotive industry is new energy vehicles, and its first battery swap-enabled MPV model rolled off the production line at its production base in Chongqing on May 18.
The B-class MPV has an NEDC range of 415 kilometers, and its flat battery pack design allows it to complete a battery swap in just 60 seconds.
Lifan has previously said that it will introduce a number of new battery swap-enabled models to meet market demand.
Founded in 1992 as a vehicle parts institute, Lifan launched its first sedan model in 2006 and became the first private car company to go public in China in 2010.
In December 2018, Lifan announced that it would transfer its 100 percent stake in Chongqing Lifan to a company owned by Li Auto for RMB 650 million.
Li Auto was thus qualified to produce cars in China, while only one of the two qualifications Lifan previously owned remained, allowing it to continue producing cars.
In the first half of last year, Lifan's car sales were only about 1,000 units, with revenue of RMB 1.58 billion, down 69.42 percent year-over-year, and a net loss attributable to the listed company of RMB 2.59 billion.
The company then underwent a significant restructuring and brought in Geely as a shareholder.
In early April, Lifan said that with the implementation of the restructuring plan, the company's debts were effectively resolved and the supply of funds returned to normal.
The company said the mass production of the battery swap-enabled MPV model rolled out on May 18, marking the gradual return of its automotive business to normalcy after treatment in the "intensive care unit".
Lifan, once on verge of bankruptcy, sees first battery swap-enabled MPV roll off line
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