Geely Takes 30% Stake in NIO Power as EV Giants Deepen Battery-Swap Alliance

The two automakers are combining ownership stakes, energy assets and infrastructure to build a broader shared ecosystem for charging and rapid battery exchange across passenger and commercial vehicles 

Geely and NIO representative attend a signing ceremony for their strategic partnership on charging and battery swapping on September 28, 2026

Geely Holding Group and NIO announced a comprehensive strategic partnership on September 28, 2026, aimed at integrating their charging and battery-swapping infrastructure. 

NIO announced on Monday that it has signed a definitive agreement with certain subsidiaries of Geely Holding, under which Geely Holding intends to acquire a 30% stake in NIO Power in exchange for the entire equity interest in its battery swap business, Yiyi Power, and 640 million yuan ($94.8 million) in cash. 

Geely will use these assets and cash to subscribe for new shares in NIO Power, with the transaction implying a post-money valuation of about 16 billion yuan ($2.37 billion), according to NIO 's announcement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. 

Upon completion, Nio China will retain control of NIO Power with a 63.6% stake, while existing investor Wuhan Guangchuang Emerging Technology Phase I Venture Capital Fund Partnership will hold the remaining 6.4%. 

The deal will bring Geely's battery swap business for commercial fleets into NIO Power, advancing the partnership from technical standards and network sharing to business integration. 

A battery-swapping station by Geely's Yiyi Power

Yiyi Power's fleet battery swap operations will subsequently be integrated into NIO Power, which will continue to optimize the relevant network to support the business's growth, NIO said in a press release. 

Geely's final stake is also tied to certain operational milestones. Its holding may be reduced after closing if performance falls short, but will not drop below 20%. 

Geely was also granted an option to invest a further 640 million yuan in cash. Excluding any post-closing equity adjustments, exercising the option would raise its stake to 34% and reduce NIO China's holding to 60%. 

The option must be exercised within 2 years of closing or before NIO Power signs binding agreements for a new financing round, whichever comes first. 

In the charging business, NIO China agreed to subscribe in cash for newly issued equity in Geely's Zhejiang Haohan Energy Technology Co Ltd (Haohan Energy), giving it a 10% stake upon completion. Haohan Energy will use the proceeds to purchase certain charging assets from NIO. 

The filing did not disclose the investment amount, and the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. 

The companies also plan to fully connect their charging infrastructure, expand coverage and improve operating efficiency, combining mutual equity investments with cooperation across their charging and battery swap networks. 

For the consumer market, the companies plan to jointly develop unified battery swap technologies and standards. Geely will develop battery-swappable models, with NIO Power providing swap services. 

However, NIO 's Hong Kong filing said the battery swap plans covering consumer models and commercial mobility businesses under Geely remain preliminary. Their finalization and implementation are subject to further discussions among the relevant parties. 

A NIO ET5 Touring undergoes a battery swap at a NIO Power station

NIO said the partnership would accelerate the expansion of its battery swap network. NIO Power aims to operate 10,000 swap stations by 2030, when annual electricity demand across the network is expected to exceed 10 billion kWh. 

Geely plans to build more than 22,000 charging stations with over 100,000 charging connectors by the end of 2027, including more than 15,000 smart charging stations with over 50,000 smart charging connectors. 

The partnership builds on earlier cooperation in technology and infrastructure. NIO and Geely Holding entered into a battery swap strategic partnership in November 2023 and expanded their cooperation to charging network connectivity in March 2024. 

NIO Power has previously raised outside capital. In May 2024, it announced a 1.5 billion yuan strategic investment led by the Wuhan Guangchuang fund to support technology development, operations and charging and battery swap infrastructure expansion. 

NIO Power was founded in May 2017 in Wuhan, Hubei, in central China, and was wholly owned by NIO Holding prior to receiving investment from Wuhan Guangchuang. 

In March 2025, NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CATL, stating at the time that the battery giant was moving forward with an investment of up to 2.5 billion yuan in NIO Power. However, that investment never materialized. 

NIO Inc founder, chairman and CEO William Li said the partnership with Geely Holding Group is part of the companies' response to China's campaign to curb cutthroat competition. 

Speaking at a signing ceremony in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Monday, Li said the partnership would connect the charging and battery swap resources accumulated by both companies. He described it as an effort by Chinese automakers to reduce duplicate investment and improve innovation efficiency. 

NIO founder, chairman and CEO William Li speaks at the signing ceremony for the company's charging and battery swap partnership with Geely on September 28, 2026

With support from Geely's resources, NIO Power will accelerate the expansion of its battery swap network, he said, adding that this would strengthen its confidence in reaching its target of 10,000 swap stations by 2030. 

His remarks offered a more detailed strategic rationale for the equity investments and business cooperation announced earlier in the day: expanding access to shared infrastructure by integrating technology, standards, operations, assets and capital. 

Li said sustained innovation had driven rapid growth in China's EV industry over the past 10 years. The next phase would require both stronger innovation capabilities and greater efficiency in innovation, he said. 

"How to coordinate industry efforts, reduce duplicate investment, and jointly build, share and connect resources for innovation is a key issue for the next phase of high-quality development in China's auto industry," he said. 

Li described the partnership as a concrete step toward curbing cutthroat competition and improving the allocation of industry resources. An open, collaborative industry ecosystem is crucial to the next stage of development for China's auto sector, he said. 

Li also highlighted the value of the swap network beyond vehicle charging, saying swap stations have significant potential as energy storage facilities for grid peak shaving and frequency regulation. 

He expects annual electricity demand across Nio's swap network to exceed 10 billion kWh by 2030, with the commercial and social value of swap stations as energy infrastructure becoming increasingly apparent. 

"NIO and Geely's cooperation in charging and battery swapping is an open platform for the industry," Li said. "We welcome and look forward to more peers joining us."