Cost sharing is welcome
Nio is pioneering battery swapping stations, but that is an expensive hobby. That is why the company now has a partnership with Changan, also Chinese, which will develop EVs together with Nio that can receive a different battery at Nio’s switching stations.
The Chinese state-owned company Changan is not yet well known in the Netherlands, but is one of the four largest Chinese car manufacturers. It also has 35 years of experience in the field of passenger cars and can therefore count itself among the oldest Chinese car brands. Quite a compliment for the still young and relatively small Nio, that this ‘old hand’ seeks refuge with the brand. According to Reuters, Changan will use the battery-swapping technology of EV manufacturer Nio by developing EVs together with that brand that can change batteries in Nio’s ‘swap stations’.
This makes it seem inevitable that the electric Changans will not only use batteries, but also platforms developed by Nio. In any case, the entire collaboration works out well for Nio, that is having a hard time financially. If there are also Changans driving around who can change at Nio’s switching stations, the associated costs can be shared and the stations will of course be occupied more often, which will make them profitable sooner.
Reuters reports that Changan and Nio rank seventh and eighth respectively in China this year when it comes to EV sales. Changan sold 123,322 electric cars, Nio 109,993. There are 2,113 Nio exchange stations in China, which, according to the brand, are mainly used around large cities because charging on the street is often difficult there.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl