NIO, an NYSE-listed Chinese EV manufacturer, has partnered with Guangzhou Automobile Group Group, a global provider of shipping, logistics, and marine services, on EV charging and swapping and implementing a new unified battery standard.

This is part of NIO’s strategy of partnering with other automotive companies to establish EV battery standards in China and beyond.

As part of their strategic agreement, the two companies presented a list of goals they intend to jointly work on, including 1) building a unified battery standard, 2) jointly developing passenger vehicles with battery swap capabilities, 3) developing battery swap stations compatible with EV models from both brands, 4) launching vehicles with swappable batteries designed under the standards established by both, 5) advancing the implementation of the swap stations for NIO and GAC EVs, 6) opening an interconnection of battery-swapping networks that runs on a unified operational and management system, and 7) establishing a larger, standardized, and unified power infrastructure network to achieve economies of scale.

Analyst QuickTake: This partnership follows NIO's collaboration with Wuhan Lotus Technology in April 2024 for battery swapping and EV charging. In March 2024 , the company partnered with CATL to develop long-lasting EV batteries that can last up to 15 years, twice the current national warranty standard. The partnership aimed to expand battery technology to maintain 80% of the capacity after 12 years of usage.