Changan, Nio partner on battery swapping

Chinese carmaker Changan has joined hands with the country's leading EV startup Nio to promote battery swapping technology for electric vehicles in the country.

The two will facilitate the formulation of standards for swappable batteries, build and share the battery swapping network, develop swappable vehicles and establish a battery asset management mechanism, according to their deal inked on Tuesday.

Nio is a leading smart electric vehicle company and owns the world's largest operator of battery swapping network for smart electric vehicles.

So far, it has over 2,100 battery swapping stations up and running worldwide. As of November 20, Nio had provided over 32 million battery swaps for its users.

William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio, said the company has accumulated rich experience in research and development, construction and operations of battery swap stations, and is ready to share it with the entire industry.

Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan, said as China is doubling down on new energy and smart connected vehicles, the implementation of Nio's battery swapping model marks a significant milestone for the industry.

He said this partnership with Nio won't be limited to battery swapping, adding that they will strengthen cooperation in areas, including energy, charging and vehicle development.

With 39 years of experience in vehicle production, Changan has 12 manufacturing bases and 22 factories worldwide.

As of October 2023, Changan's cumulative sales had totalled 25.3 million units.

In 2017, the carmaker released the Project Shangri-La, with which the company has been expanding its new energy vehicle business and accelerating the efforts to become a smart, low-carbon mobility and technology company.