Nio's battery swap system will go from private domain exclusive service to public service and is expected to turn a profit, local media said.
(Image credit: Yiyi Power)
Nio (NYSE: NIO) today entered into a partnership with Chinese auto giant Geely Holding Group, bringing in a new partner for its battery swap system after Changan Automobile.
Notably, the partnership with Geely will involve the battery swap network serving both private and commercial vehicles, something not mentioned in Nio's partnership with Changan.
Nio and Geely will engage in an all-round battery swap strategic partnership to create two battery swap standard systems for both private and commercial vehicles, according to Nio's press release.
Nio and Geely will work together to build a larger, unified battery swap network by investing, building, sharing, and operating together in the existing sites and adding new sites, the two companies said.
The strategic partnership is between Nio and Geely Holding, which owns a number of sub-brands, but they were represented by Jack Liu, CEO of Geely's battery swap station operator Yiyi Power, and Shen Fei, Nio's vice president of power business.
Yiyi Power has been working on the battery swap market for commercial vehicles for years and is accelerating the expansion of its battery swap network, Nio's press release said.
Founded in 2016, Yiyi Power completed its first battery swap station in September 2020 in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing.
To date, Yiyi Power operates more than 300 battery swap stations in more than 30 cities, providing more than 20,000 services per day, according to a November 15 release by the company.
(Image credit: Yiyi Power)
Nio completed its first battery swap station in Shenzhen on May 20, 2018. As of today, the company has 2,163 battery swap stations in China and has cumulatively provided about 33 million battery swap services.
Geely announced in September 2021 that it expected Yiyi Power to operate 5,000 battery swap stations by 2025 worldwide.
Adding new members to its battery swap alliance is seen as part of Nio's efforts to turn its battery swap stations into a public service offering.
Before announcing Changan as the company's first partner in battery swap, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said on November 20 that the company was in talks with four to five other companies for similar partnerships.
Going from servicing only private vehicles to servicing both private and commercial vehicles means that Nio's battery swap system will go from being a private domain exclusive service to a public service and is expected to turn a profit, local media outlet Wallstreetcn said in a report today, citing a source close to the company.
In addition to battery swap stations, Nio also has one of the highest numbers of charging piles in China, with more than 20,000.
Nio no longer continues to lose money on its charging business, which is one of the few businesses the company doesn't lose money on, Li said at the Nio IN 2023 Innovation Day event held on September 21.
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