China’s Nio and Geely deepen commitment to EV battery swapping tech in stake sale

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio has deepened its partnership with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group after agreeing to sell a stake in its battery swap subsidiary to the automotive conglomerate in a deal that values the unit at 16 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion).

Geely Holding, controlled by Chinese billionaire Li Shufu, would pay 640 million yuan in cash and contribute its wholly owned battery-swapping unit Yiyi Internet Technology in exchange for a 30 per cent share in Nio Power, Nio said in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday.

The transaction would pave the way for the two companies to co-develop unified battery swapping standards and new models based on the technology, Nio added.

The agreement reflected “industry recognition of Nio’s battery swapping technologies, network and operational capabilities”, the company said in the filing. “Nio expects to further promote the adoption of battery swapping, continuously enhance user experience, accelerate the growth of electric vehicle penetration and further unlock the long-term value of battery swapping.”