Chongqing Changan Automobile partners with Nio to develop the battery swap business in China. Two companies will promote the establishment of battery standards for swappable batteries. According to the agreement signed between two sides in Chongqing, the Changan’s motherland, they will also cooperate in other aspects.
Changan & Nio cooperation on battery swap stations
The signing ceremony was held at the Changan’s headquarters. And representatives of companies appeared to be Changan’s Chairman Zhu Huarong and Nio founder William Li. They have signed a battery swap business cooperation agreement to promote establishing battery swap standards.
Moreover, the two companies will jointly construct and share the battery swap network. They will promote research and development of battery swap models and establish an efficient battery asset management mechanism.
Why do Nio and Changan need to cooperate
Currently, Nio has 2,113 battery swap stations (also known as Power Swap Stations, PSS) in China. And the PSS network is rapidly growing. The cooperation with Changan will strengthen its position.
Changan owns several NEV (new energy vehicle) brands, such as Avatr, Qiyuan, and Deepal. However, Changan still lags in terms of NEV sales volume. In 2022, it sold around 270,000 PHEVs, EREVs, and BEVs. In nine months of 2023, Changan’s sales reached 306,682 units.
Many companies are starting to develop their battery swap network. For example, SAIC develops its own network for MG, Rising, and Maxus brands. The same happens with GAC Aion. But these brands’ battery swap station networks develop slowly. They have stations only in tier-one cities across China. As a result, battery swap becomes more of a PR element.
Changan realized that starting the development process of battery swap stations from scratch is difficult and risky. This is why they are interested in this cooperation. There is no information about the upcoming Changan model with swappable batteries. But Avatr, Deepal, and Qiyuan brands will likely get models with this technology.
Previously, William Li mentioned that the company’s PSS would be opened to other brands. So, Changan will become the first one.
Source: Nio, Weibo
I doubt about NIO reliability, they already tried to collaborate with Changan in 2018 then they suddenly left the boat. Luckily Changan found other partners (Huawei and CATL) to create AVATR. Now Nio wants to come back?! Mmh…
With the latest 5C battery from CATL getting 552 kW peak charging, I’m not sure the cost of the swapping stations is worth the extra few minutes saved.
I also wonder how many “spare” batteries there will be at a station – if the amount of cars waiting is longer than the amount of spare batteries, you’re again limited by charging speeds.
Agree. Fast charging will put pressure on battery swapping.