Geely and NIO join forces in the energy replenishment battle.

Author | Zhou Zhiyu

"Unite to survive."

On September 28, when discussing the charging and battery swapping cooperation between NIO and Geely, An Conghui, Chairman of Geely Automobile Group, jokingly remarked, "The two teams have been discussing cooperation for nearly three years, and have finally reached the point of combining assets, cash, and equity."

According to the agreement, Geely's subsidiary plans to subscribe for newly issued shares of NIO Energy with 100% equity of E-Easy Connect and RMB 640 million in cash, initially holding 30% of the shares, corresponding to a post-investment valuation of approximately RMB 16 billion. NIO China plans to acquire a 10% stake in Haohan Energy, which will use the increased capital to acquire some of NIO's charging assets. The transaction is still pending completion, and NIO China will continue to hold a controlling stake in NIO Energy.

Why, after nearly three years of discussions, has the cooperation now reached the level of equity and assets?

An Conghui recalled that more than a decade ago, the industry was still debating which technological route to take for energy replenishment; now, ultra-fast charging and battery swapping have each found their corresponding users and scenarios. NIO Chairman Li Bin focused on investment: in the past, everyone explored their own paths, but now we need to reduce redundant investment and improve operational efficiency.

Both companies have their next round of expansion planned. Geely just released its new generation of smart charging technology five days ago and plans to build more than 22,000 charging stations and 100,000 charging guns by the end of 2027; NIO aims to build 10,000 battery swapping stations by 2030.

SEA Energy has integrated the charging businesses of JK, Lynk & Co, and Geely Galaxy, boasting over 2,500 charging stations. NIO's approximately 10,000 independent charging guns are expected to be integrated through this partnership. Geely's battery swapping business for commercial vehicles will be merged into NIO Energy. Before the next round of investment, both parties are combining some of their existing businesses.

Li Bin said, "The charging and battery swapping sector is particularly easy to calculate." He disclosed that NIO has invested over 20 billion yuan in the past 11 years, and more than 85% of the electricity used by its charging network comes from other brands. An Conghui also emphasized that investment will continue, but cooperation will be used to reduce risks and scale up operations more quickly.

Li Bin did not shy away from the competition between the two companies in the automotive market. "If you talk about competition, there will be no cooperation, which is not a good business logic." In his view, charging and battery swapping already have the foundation for interconnection, co-construction and sharing, which is an area where both parties can more easily reach a consensus.

Geely Automobile Group CEO Gan Jiayue bluntly stated, "We've done a great job with the technology, but communication with the market and customers remains a problem for us." Besides safety and speed, he repeatedly emphasized convenience. Geely aims to quickly bring its newly released fast-charging technology to users.

Regarding battery swapping, Qin Lihong has already started calculating the costs in Hangzhou.

Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO, said that he specifically checked Hangzhou's urban planning data the day before. NIO and Geely have a combined total of over 100 battery swapping stations in Hangzhou. He envisions that if the stations are fully interconnected, evenly distributed, and coupled with intelligent scheduling, vehicles could theoretically reach a station within approximately 5 minutes of driving.

For commercial vehicles on the road every day, less time spent on recharging can be converted into more time for taking orders. Qin Lihong estimates that, relying on a high-quality battery swapping network, a commercial vehicle can save up to 90 minutes per day, potentially increasing operating revenue by 15% to 20%. He also clearly stated that this is still a target scenario that requires continued effort to achieve.

Qin Lihong also mentioned that battery swapping stations can undertake battery asset operation, reducing residual value losses caused by the different lifespans of vehicles and batteries through battery leasing and scheduling. For operating fleets, battery swapping is also related to the cost of the entire vehicle's lifecycle.

Geely is bringing precisely this kind of demand. E-Easy Connect has built over 420 battery swap stations, covering more than 50 cities, serving commercial vehicles including those of Cao Cao Mobility, and has accumulated experience in high-frequency battery swapping, vehicle dispatching, and battery maintenance. For NIO, which already has 4,126 battery swap stations in China, the partner brings not only resources for building stations, but also vehicles continuously using the network.

After the revenue projections for commercial vehicles were released, NIO car owners also expressed concern: how will their battery swapping experience be affected?

Li Bin's response was, "It's getting better and better, more and more convenient." Both parties plan to operate two battery swapping networks, one for individual users and the other for commercial vehicles, sharing R&D, supply chain, manufacturing, and operational capabilities. Qin Lihong also specifically addressed the concerns of private users: more resources will be used to accelerate the construction of swapping stations and improve the experience with a denser network.

Geely will develop battery-swapping vehicles for individual users, with services provided by NIO Energy. Beyond its operational fleet, battery swapping will also attract more private users.

Li Bin explained that the fifth-generation battery swapping stations have improved vehicle compatibility, laying the foundation for opening up to more brands. Both parties will also jointly promote battery swapping technology and standards for individual users.

The next demand that both sides are interested in includes Robotaxi.

An Conghui explicitly stated that they will leverage Cao Cao Mobility's fleet and Robotaxi deployment to expand battery swapping scenarios. Cao Cao Mobility had previously disclosed that its "Green Smart Access Island" in Hangzhou features automatic battery swapping, automatic cleaning, and vehicle preparation functions.

For autonomous vehicle fleets to operate continuously, refueling should minimize human intervention and downtime. Further cooperation between the two companies lies in connecting automatic battery swapping, vehicle dispatching, and battery management. NIO's years of investment in battery swapping also present an opportunity to reach a new group of operating customers.

Li Bin even extended the discussion to the energy business: the two sides are discussing sharing power facilities, allowing the same power supply resources to serve two battery swapping networks and Geely charging facilities, and further exploring electricity trading. More vehicles entering the stations not only create demand for energy replenishment but also increase the utilization of facilities and batteries.

Currently, major automakers and battery manufacturers are continuously escalating their investment in the energy replenishment battle. The money automakers have spent on energy replenishment in the past will continue to play a role in the next round of sales competition.

NIO's battery swapping network, built over many years, will serve Geely's planned C-end battery swapping models. Extending the business beyond simply selling cars will become a new area of focus for automakers in the next stage.

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