Chongqing - Changan Auto and the rising Chinese electric vehicle force, Nio, have signed a collaboration agreement in Chongqing. The partnership will focus on electric vehicle battery swapping services, among other areas.

Two in the middle shaking hands are Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Auto, and William Li, Founder of Nio (Left to right). (Photo/Changan Auto)

Battery swapping refers to the process where electric vehicles can quickly exchange their batteries at swapping stations to meet range requirements. Current technology allows these stations to reduce the swapping time to approximately 5 minutes. For vehicle owners, this mode saves time spent on recharging. Commercially, it introduces a new business model that separates the vehicle from its battery.

As a new force in car manufacturing, Nio was the first in China to introduce the battery-swapping model. However, the high cost of scaling up battery swapping stations has always been one of the major pressures for automakers. It's generally believed that Nio's pursuit of external collaboration on the swapping model aims to alleviate this long-term operational pressure.

"From day one of our swapping business, Nio decided to open it to the entire industry," said William Li, founder and CEO of Nio, during the meeting with Changan.

Zhu Huarong, Chairman of Changan Auto, stated that in the future, Changan's collaboration with Nio will extend beyond the battery swapping field. They plan to strengthen their partnership in other foundational and platform-level ecological areas, encompassing energy, charging and swapping, complete vehicles, and ecosystem aspects.

According to Li, Nio will introduce a shared battery pack for the mass market. This could be applied in the company's first battery-swapping collaboration project. However, the two companies have yet to disclose the specific details of their cooperation.

Chongqing has a growing demand for battery swapping in the business sector. The local car company Livan Auto primarily focuses on the swapping model and has seen its vehicles extensively purchased by taxi and ride-hailing companies.