Why has there been no news from the automakers in NIO's battery swapping alliance recently?
Li Bin has once again "ascended to godhood." First, customers could drive away the large SUV LeDao L90 for just 190,000 yuan, and 4,000 units were delivered within 10 days. Then, the new NIO ES8 could be purchased for 300,000 yuan, and its orders exceeded those of the LeDao L90 during the same period.
Good things come in pairs. NIO has truly received a huge number of orders this time.
However, behind the glittering success of NIO and Li Bin, the "NIO Battery Swap Alliance" appears extremely dim and seems to be forgotten by everyone.
Looking back to November 2023, when Changan Automobile, as the first partner, signed a battery swap strategic agreement with NIO, Li Bin stood under the spotlight and declared: "The battery swap alliance will reshape the energy replenishment ecosystem of China's new energy vehicles."
Picture/Development of the battery swap alliance Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
Subsequently, Geely, Chery, Jianghuai, Lotus, GAC, and even FAW Group successively joined the alliance, expanding the number of alliance car - makers to eight. The handshake photos at the signing ceremonies frequently made it onto the financial headlines.
As of the midsummer of 2025, an embarrassing fact has emerged: Except for NIO's own models, no mass - produced battery - swappable models within the alliance have been launched on the market. The car - makers that once promised to "jointly promote battery standardization" at the signing ceremony have collectively fallen into a thought - provoking silence. At which hidden link has this highly anticipated industry revolution stalled?
1. The Strategic Gap Behind the Data: The Illusory Mirror Image of the Alliance's Prosperity
As of August 2025, NIO's publicly displayed battery swap achievements are magnificent: More than 3,460 battery swap stations have been built nationwide, with a coverage density of one station per 100 kilometers on the highway network, and the cumulative number of battery swap services has exceeded 80 million times.
Li Bin emphasized at the LeDao L90 launch event: "NIO is the undisputed leader in the charging and battery swap field." However, what is rarely mentioned is that 83% of these service volumes come from the charging needs of non - NIO brands, and NIO almost monopolizes the real battery swap services. The collective absence of alliance car - makers has turned the battery swap stations into "energy isolated islands" with one - way output.
What's even more thought - provoking is the difference in the actions of car - makers. While brands like IM Motors and XPeng have connected to NIO's charging network, the battery swap cooperation has remained on paper. Take Changan Automobile, the earliest signatory, as an example. The facelifted version of its Shenlan SL03 still adheres to the 800V ultra - fast charging route. Although the ZEEKR 007 under Geely has reserved space for chassis battery swapping, the official has clearly stated that "self - built ultra - fast charging will be the main focus at this stage."
Picture/Shenlan SL03 - ZEEKR 007 Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
This strategic wavering exposes the fundamental contradiction of the alliance: Car - makers desire to share the energy replenishment network but are afraid of giving up control over battery standards.
2. The Root of the Silence: Three Swords of Damocles Hanging Over Their Heads
Therefore, we see a lively signing ceremony followed by complete silence. However, the Internet has a memory, and "avoidance" is not a long - term solution. Three Swords of Damocles always hang over the heads of the car - makers in the "NIO Battery Swap Alliance."
The first sword is the battle for standards: Who will control the definition of battery specifications?
All of NIO's four generations of battery swap stations are compatible with its exclusive battery pack specifications. If alliance car - makers want to be compatible, they must reconstruct their chassis designs. An engineer involved in Chery's battery swap project revealed: "NIO requires the dimensional tolerance of the battery pack to be controlled within ±0.5mm, which poses a huge challenge to the cost of mass - produced vehicles."
Picture/NIO's fourth - generation battery swap station Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
A deeper level of game - playing lies in data sovereignty. When core data such as real - time battery health status and users' charging habits flow into NIO's cloud platform, car - makers are worried that they will degenerate into "hardware contract manufacturers." This anxiety has been further exacerbated since CATL launched its standardized chocolate batteries in 2024. The latter allows car - makers to retain the initiative in battery structure design, leading more car - makers to adopt a wait - and - see attitude.
The second sword is the financial black hole: The difficult profit equation.
NIO has invested 18 billion yuan in battery swapping over the past decade, and the cost of a single battery swap station is as high as 5 million yuan (including land rent and operation and maintenance).
Picture/NIO has invested over 18 billion yuan in the charging and battery swap field Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
Although Li Bin compares battery swapping to "Amazon Web Services," the reality is that a battery swap station needs to serve an average of 60 times a day to break even, while the current average is only 35 times.
For alliance car - makers, the input - output ratio of transforming production lines is even more discouraging. Adapting to the battery swap architecture requires an additional cost of about 12,000 yuan per vehicle. Calculated based on an annual sales volume of 100,000 vehicles, this amounts to a sunk cost of 1.2 billion yuan, and there is no guarantee that users will continue to use the paid battery swap service.
The third sword is consumers' voting with their feet: The split in energy replenishment needs.
Market feedback has deepened car - makers' hesitation. A survey by a third - party platform in 2025 showed that the primary consideration for potential customers when choosing the battery swap mode is the possibility of battery upgrade (68%), rather than energy replenishment efficiency.
However, NIO's BAAS (Battery as a Service) model is in a dilemma. If battery upgrades are opened, the monthly rent for owners renting a 75kWh battery to upgrade to a 100kWh battery will jump from 728 yuan to 1,128 yuan, leading to a large number of complaints. If the battery specifications are locked, the flexibility of technological iteration will be lost.
Picture/NIO's Baas service policy Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
3. The Siege of Alternative Paths: How External Forces Are Breaking the Consensus
In fact, the slow progress of the car - makers in the "NIO Battery Swap Alliance" is also closely related to the frequent actions of a battery company in the battery swap field.
At the end of 2024, CATL unveiled the real trump card in the battery swap field: It announced the launch of 20#/25# standardized batteries compatible with multiple brands and planned to build 1,000 chocolate battery swap stations in 2025.
Picture/CATL's launch of 20#/25# battery swap blocks Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
Its business logic hits the core of car - makers' concerns: It does not require a unified chassis structure and only achieves power expansion through modular combinations. This attitude of "letting car - makers continue to be the protagonists" has quickly attracted brands such as Dongfeng Lantu and SAIC Feifan to join. A senior executive of a new - energy vehicle brand who had contact with NIO admitted: "The CATL solution leaves room for us to define battery packs, which is the essential difference between an open and a closed system."
On the other hand, while the battery swap alliance is at a standstill, ultra - fast charging technology is iterating at an astonishing speed. Li Auto has invested 10 billion yuan to build 3,000 5C ultra - fast charging stations, XPeng's self - operated charging piles have exceeded 10,000, and Huawei's 600kW liquid - cooled ultra - fast charging has compressed the charging time to "200 kilometers in 5 minutes."
The sharp reduction in the gap in energy replenishment efficiency has made car - makers more inclined to choose the independently controllable ultra - fast charging route. Especially after the fact that 80% of NIO's ultra - fast charging piles serve external brands was revealed, alliance members realized that instead of sharing battery swap services, it is better to connect to the charging network - the latter allows them to enjoy the infrastructure dividends without changing the vehicle architecture.
4. The Strategic Transformation Behind the Silence: The Alliance Is Saving Itself
Facing the dilemma, NIO Energy is quietly adjusting its strategy. The use of its latest financing of 1.5 billion yuan is quite meaningful: "Focus on vehicle - to - grid (V2G) interaction and energy storage business."
Picture/NIO's 20kW V2G charging pile Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
This implies two transformation paths: The first is to shift from a car - maker alliance to an energy service provider.
In cities such as Wuhan and Suzhou, NIO's battery swap stations are connecting to the power grid peak - shaving system, earning the price difference by charging during off - peak hours and discharging during peak hours. The operation data of a battery swap station shows that a single station can increase its income by 800 - 1200 yuan per day through daily participation in electricity trading, accounting for about 30% of the operating cost. This positioning of "a battery swap station is also an energy storage station" reduces the dependence on cooperation with car - makers.
The second is to build an energy replenishment circle of friends in a hierarchical manner.
The latest cooperation model shows obvious stratification: The primary level (charging interconnection): Eight brands such as IM Motors only connect to the charging network; the advanced level (joint development): Chery's Xingtu plans to launch a battery - swappable model in Q3 2025, using NIO's battery packs but building its own exclusive stations; the core level (ecosystem sharing): Only Changan Shenlan will share some highway battery swap stations.
Picture/Cooperation between Xingtu and NIO Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
This gradient cooperation is actually a practical retreat. When full standardization encounters obstacles, the alliance first maintains its existence through a mixed model.
5. The Revelation of the Endgame: The Reconstruction of Industrial Power Behind Energy Infrastructure
The collective silence of the battery swap alliance is essentially a microcosm of the battle for energy sovereignty in the new - energy vehicle industry.
When car - makers realize that the energy replenishment network contains a more long - lasting value chain than vehicle sales (such as BAAS leasing, grid interaction, and data services), they are reluctant to accept the standardized system led by NIO.
As an analyst from an institution pointed out: "The success of Tesla's super - charging network lies in the integrity of its closed ecosystem. However, the NIO Battery Swap Alliance is trying to establish standards in an open architecture, which will inevitably encounter resistance from traditional manufacturing giants."
Picture/Tesla's new - energy ecological closed - loop system architecture Source/Screenshot from the Internet's New Energy Outlook
The future breakthrough point may lie in the intervention of financial tools. NIO's BAAS model has shown the potential for asset securitization - the right to lease income can be packaged into financial products. For example, the stable