Geely, China’s leading privately-controlled automotive technology group and NIO Holdings have signed a strategic partnership agreement on battery swapping technology. 

Under the agreement, both parties agreed to carry out comprehensive cooperation on battery standards, battery swapping technology, battery swapping network expansion and operation, swappable model development, and battery asset management.

Battery swapping is one of the solutions that some EV manufacturers and battery companies are exploring to get over issues with lack of charging infrastructure and long charging times. NIO believes, with preferential policies and an expanding network, battery swapping is being embraced by more EV users. It says, it "chargeable, swappable, upgradeable" service system provides private car users with the best recharging solution in the industry. With years of experience in providing battery swapping for commercial vehicles, NIO’s Yiyi Power is now looking to expand its presence.  

The partnership will further standardise battery swapping technology, increase the scale of the battery swap network, and accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry.

"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," said William LI, Founder, Chairman and CEO of NIO, "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 popularise battery swapping, bring quality and convenient battery swapping experience to more users and contribute to the steady development of the smart EV industry. We will continue to advance the construction of battery swapping network for NIO users and improve the users’ experience, while collaborating with partners to launch the construction of shared battery swapping network."

Geely is both a major vehicle producer under its own name and also owns global brands such as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus. Currently the company has some 300 battery swapping stations in operation, but aims to have 5,000 globally by 2025.