Reporter Feng Yao.
On January 11, a reporter from China's first newspaper learned from a number of "Anhui" car companies and power battery manufacturers that Anhui has made a series of layouts in the field of new energy vehicle industry.
Among them, Anhui Energy Group (Anhui Energy Group), Weilai, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, and Anhui Province New Energy Vehicle and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Theme Mother jointly established a new company to promote the open and shared layout of new energy vehicle storage, charging and swapping networks, and further promote the open and interoperability of battery swap networks.
At the same time, NIO's battery swap "circle of friends" has been further expanded. The two major car companies, including Chery Automobile and Jiangqi Group, signed the "Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement on Battery Swap" with NIO on the same day. In addition to Changan Automobile and Geely Holdings, which have previously officially announced their cooperation, NIO's battery swap partners have been expanded to 4.
The "Battery Swap Alliance" has begun to take shape
According to the reporter's understanding, on the afternoon of January 11, Zhong'an Energy, which was jointly funded by Anhui Energy Group, Weilai, Guoxuan Hi-Tech, Anhui Province New Energy Vehicles and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Theme Mother, was officially unveiled in Hefei.
It is reported that the company will be committed to promoting the construction of charging and swapping infrastructure and platforms in Anhui Province, unifying battery swapping standards and battery banking business, and gradually deepening to the new energy vehicle aftermarket, virtual power plants, carbon management and other related fields, helping Anhui Automobile "first industry" construction.
After the unveiling ceremony, Wanneng Group, Anhui Provincial Traffic Control Group and NIO signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement on Jointly Promoting the Construction of an Open and Shared Storage, Charging and Swapping System". The above three parties will jointly support Zhongan Energy to promote the construction of 1,000 storage, charging and swapping integrated battery swap stations in an orderly manner, promote the layout of open and shared new energy vehicle storage, charging and swapping networks, and further promote the openness and interconnection of battery swap networks.
In addition, the three parties will also carry out all-round and multi-level in-depth strategic cooperation in battery standards, charging and swapping technology, battery asset management and operation, new power system cooperation, and first-chain cooperation related to the production and manufacturing of storage, charging and swapping equipment involved in the storage and charging industry.
According to public information, Anhui Energy Group is the most authorized investment and operation institution and state-owned asset investment entity in Anhui Province, and has formed a benign development pattern of interactive and coordinated development of the three major industries of electricity, natural gas and finance, and strong support from industries such as coal logistics, new energy and power production services.
The Anhui Provincial Traffic Control Group is currently a unified expressway investment, operation and management platform in Anhui Province, and its operating expressway mileage accounts for more than 90% of the whole province of Anhui.
According to people familiar with the matter, in the field of new energy vehicle energy supplement, the establishment of Zhong'an Energy is the result of the first leading capital operation platform, which means that the official recognition and support of the battery swap model.
It is reported that with the development of cooperation, the three parties will provide sufficient resources in energy, electricity, transportation and other aspects, combined with NIO's charging and swapping technology and operation experience, which is conducive to the rapid layout of the energy service system in Anhui, including the laying of battery swap stations in high-speed service areas.
Through the above-mentioned cooperation, the new energy automobile industry in Anhui Province has created a new battery swap alliance, which has begun to take shape.
NIO joins hands with Jiangqi and Chery
It is worth noting that on the same day, Jiangqi Group and Chery Automobile respectively reached a battery swap cooperation with NIO. At present, the two strategic cooperation framework agreements are different. Among them, the strategic cooperation framework agreement between Chery and NIO shows that the two parties will carry out all-round and multi-level in-depth strategic cooperation in battery standards, battery swap technology, battery swap service network construction and operation.
According to the strategic cooperation framework agreement between Jiangqi Group and NIO, in addition to the cooperation between the two sides in the establishment of battery swap battery standards, battery swap technology, battery swap service network construction and sharing, and the establishment of an efficient battery asset management mechanism, the new energy models planned by JAC Group will cooperate with NIO in depth to launch "rechargeable, swappable and upgradeable" models to comprehensively improve the user power experience.
At the end of November last year, NIO cooperated on the battery swap model, and successively joined hands with Changan Automobile and Geely Holdings. With the addition of Jiangqi Group and Chery Automobile in this cooperation, NIO's battery swap "circle of friends" has expanded to 4. In fact, Li Bin, CEO of Weilai, had "spoilers" in a ** exchange at the end of 2023: "In terms of battery swapping, Weilai is still talking with 4-5 companies. ”
Range anxiety has always been an important factor restricting the development of new energy vehicles. The traditional charging mode not only takes a long time to charge, but also has many limitations in the construction of charging stations. At this time, the battery swap mode of "vehicle and electricity separation" came into being, which has the characteristics of energy storage, energy replenishment and sharing economy, which provides a new idea for solving this problem.
On December 21, 2023, the National Conference on Industry and Information Technology was held in Beijing. The meeting deployed the tasks for 2024, which highlighted that in 2024, it is necessary to support the development of the battery swap mode of new energy vehicles, and do a good job in the pilot area of comprehensive electrification of vehicles in the public sector. In the view of the industry, with the green light of the policy, the battery swap mode is expected to accelerate.
At present, NIO is currently the largest operator of electric vehicle battery swap stations in China. As of December 31, 2023, NIO has deployed a total of 2,316 battery swap stations. Li Bin also recently publicly stated that NIO has been considering opening up the battery swap business since the first day of its battery swap business.
Previously, NIO's battery swap stations were limited to their own brand users, so their small number of vehicles limited the profitability of the battery swap stations to a certain extent. However, Li Bin recently bluntly said, "The battery swap business has never been a burden for NIO." He revealed that the operating expenses of each battery swap station plus depreciation and amortization cost between 300,000 and 400,000 yuan, and 60 battery swap businesses can be completed every day to achieve profitability.
Li Bin also mentioned that the battery swap station can also participate in the energy storage business in some regions. On January 3, NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement with photovoltaic giant LONGi Green Energy to jointly promote the use of green and clean energy for photovoltaic power generation in charging and swapping stations, and build an industry-leading integrated photovoltaic storage and charging station.
At present, the closed loop of its battery swap business is gradually closing. Some industry insiders believe that with the development of more extensive cooperation, the construction and operating costs of NIO's battery swap station will be greatly reduced, and it is expected to attract more capital to enter the market in the future and further accelerate the construction of the battery swap network.
Editor: Xiaomo Review: Muyu.