NIO has reached a strategic agreement with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group to integrate part of their battery swap and EV charging businesses in China. The deal involves cross-investments between both companies and the development of common technological standards.
As part of the agreement, Geely will acquire 30% of NIO Power, the subsidiary managing NIO’s battery swap and charging activities. In exchange, it will contribute its entire stake in Yiyi Power and 640 million yuan, approximately $95 million.
The transaction values NIO Power at approximately 16 billion yuan, equivalent to about $2.38 billion. Once the deal is completed, NIO China will retain a 63.6% controlling stake.
NIO Power to incorporate Geely’s battery swap network
The integration will allow Yiyi Power’s battery swap business for commercial fleets to become part of NIO Power. In this way, both companies will seek to leverage a common infrastructure instead of developing completely independent networks.
Furthermore, NIO and Geely will work on unified battery swap technologies and standards for consumer market vehicles. Geely also plans to develop models compatible with this technology, while NIO Power will provide the necessary services for battery changes.
The deal will also feature a second cross-shareholding. NIO will acquire 10% of Haohan Energy, Geely’s subsidiary specializing in smart charging. The companies plan to connect their charging resources to increase coverage and improve the operational efficiency of the networks.
NIO aims for 10,000 swap stations by 2030
The scale of the infrastructure will be a key element of the alliance. NIO Power aims to reach 10,000 battery swap stations by 2030. By then, the annual electricity demand of its network could exceed 10 billion kWh.
Geely, for its part, plans to have more than 22,000 charging stations by the end of 2027, with over 100,000 charging points. This network includes more than 15,000 smart stations and around 50,000 smart charging points.
Currently, NIO has already developed more than 4,000 battery swap stations. This system allows a depleted battery to be replaced with a charged one in approximately three minutes, offering an alternative to conventional EV charging.
NIO and Geely alliance opens to other manufacturers
The scope of the agreement could extend beyond the two companies. William Li, founder and CEO of NIO, indicated that cooperation in charging and battery swapping will be open to other automotive industry participants.
This strategy seeks to move toward a shared infrastructure where different manufacturers can use compatible networks and common standards. For users, greater interoperability could expand station availability and reduce dependence on brand-exclusive networks.
The collaboration also comes as Chinese manufacturers accelerate the development of solutions to reduce charging times. In addition to the swap model used by NIO, companies like Geely and BYD are expanding their technologies and ultra-fast charging networks.
With this deal, NIO and Geely combine investment, infrastructure, and technological standardization to expand their EV-related energy services. The potential inclusion of other manufacturers will determine the extent to which this model can evolve into a broader battery swap and charging network within the Chinese market.
Source: NIO
Photo: Geely
