COLLABORATION OF NIO AND CHANGAN ON DEVLOPING A BATTERY-SWAPPING ECOSYSTEM
On November 21, 2023, Nio and Changan reached an agreement to collaborate on developing a battery-swapping ecosystem. Additionally, this collaboration marks the debut of Nio’s renowned energy replenishment network’s first outside partner.
Despite being created in 2014, Nio has not yet reported a profit, according to Bloomberg. Consequently, the goal of this collaboration is to increase Nio’s profitability and standardize batteries for the consumer market.
Moreover, these two businesses will continue to expand their collaboration in other platforms and essential areas, such as energy, vehicle development, charging and swapping, and ecosystems, to work together to support the industry’s high-quality development and create a stable, shared, and mutually beneficial ecosystem.
Battery Swapping
Instead of connecting the car to a charging station, drivers may easily swap out empty battery packs for fully charged ones thanks to Battery Swapping. Switching can also shorten the amount of time required for cars to recharge, which might lessen the burden on power networks during peak hours.
Since an EV’s batteries are its most expensive component, potential buyers frequently have serious concerns about the availability of charging stations. Thus, industry analysts think that if batteries become more standardized, this might be resolved.
Nio’s Announcement
Nio announced that on Tuesday, it inked a contract with Changan to collaborate on this project. Following its withdrawal from a joint venture it had established with Changan a few years prior, Nio has reestablished its relationship with the renowned automotive behemoth.
In general, the two brands will primarily concentrate on battery swap networking. They will work together to create and distribute the battery swap network, create standards for swappable batteries, create vehicles that can be switched out, and set up a successful ecosystem for managing batteries, according to Nio.
The chairman and CEO of Nio, William Li, has said, “As Nio started battery swap from the very beginning, it has been ready to open up its technologies and infrastructure to the entire industry,”. This was also an indication of their services named “battery-as-a-service” which was introduced in 2020.
Furthermore, it is said that as a leading automotive company in China, Changan has demonstrated great determination and strong execution in electrification and transformation, and with this partnership, these two brands will jointly contribute to the development and transformation of the industry.
Changhan’s Announcement
The Changan, headquartered in in Jiangbei district in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing, on the announcement of this partnership, said that China is doubling down on new energy and smart connected vehicles and the implementation of NIO’s battery swapping model marks a significant milestone for the industry.
Zhu Huarong, the chairman of Changan, stated in response to this, “The partnership between Changan Automobile and NIO on battery swap is of great importance, contributing to the high-quality development of China’s new energy vehicle industry. This partnership with NIO won’t be limited to battery swap”.
Conclusion
The standardization of batteries in electric vehicles has the potential to significantly broaden the market for these vehicles, as both industry analysts and skeptics of EVs contend. Furthermore, because Nio and Changan have made the decision to pursue the initiative with all of their strength, this collaboration might be revolutionary for the electric vehicle market.