Nio Announces Strategic Partnership With Changan For EV Battery Exchange Development

Nio Swap Station Battery. (Doc. Nio)

JAKARTA - China's automotive company, Nio, has officially announced a strategic partnership with Changan Automobile in order to develop battery exchange technology for electric vehicles (EVs). This collaboration aims to reduce costs in the development of the innovation.

Reported by Reuters on Tuesday, November 21, this partnership will also involve the construction and sharing of EV battery exchange stations. This move is expected to reduce not only costs, but also open up opportunities for both companies to achieve profitability.

The battery exchange system allows drivers to quickly replace the battery, replace it with a fully charged battery, without connecting the vehicle to the charging point.

The existence of battery exchange stations is also considered to help reduce the load on the power grid, especially during busy times when the drivers recharge the batteries. However, industry analysts and executives believe that this will only work if the batteries become more standardized.

Nio, as a leader in the industry, has plans to double the number of stations in China this year. Although several other electric vehicle manufacturers consider battery exchange facilities too expensive, Nio continues to lead by creating innovations that support the growth of the electric vehicle industry.

To date, Nio has set up 2,113 battery exchange stations across China, as well as provided 1 million charging facilities. This service was first launched in September 2019 for free for buyers of the Nio ET7, EC7, ES7, and ET5 models, however, starting August 2021, Nio limits free battery exchanges to four times a month, compared to six times a month earlier.