"United to survive."

On September 28, when discussing the charging and battery-swapping cooperation between NIO and Geely, An Conghui, Chairman of Geely Automobile Group, joked. The two teams had discussed the cooperation for nearly three years, and finally reached the point of putting assets, cash, and equity together.

According to the agreement, a company under Geely Auto (ASX: None) intends to subscribe to newly issued equity of NIO Energy with 100% equity of Yiyi Interconnection and 640 million yuan in cash, with an initial stake of 30%, corresponding to a post-investment valuation of about 16 billion yuan. NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) China, on the other hand, plans to take a 10% stake in Haohan Energy, which will use this capital increase to acquire part of NIO's charging assets. The transaction is still pending delivery, and NIO China will continue to hold a controlling stake in NIO Energy.

Why did a cooperation that had been discussed for nearly three years reach the level of equity and assets at this time?

An Conghui recalled that more than a decade ago, the industry was still repeatedly debating which technological route energy replenishment should take; today, ultra-fast charging and battery swapping have each found their corresponding users and scenarios. NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) Chairman Li Bin focused the topic on investment: in the past, each explored separately; now they need to reduce duplicate investment and improve operational efficiency.

The two companies' next round of expansion is already on the agenda. Geely Auto (ASX: None) just released a new generation of smart charging technology five days ago, planning to build more than 22,000 charging stations and 100,000 charging guns by the end of 2027; NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) plans to build 10,000 battery-swapping stations by 2030.

Haohan Energy has already integrated the charging businesses of Zeekr, Lynk & Co, and Geely Galaxy, with more than 2,500 charging stations, and NIO's approximately 10,000 independent charging guns are expected to be connected through this cooperation. Geely's battery-swapping business for operating vehicles will be merged into NIO Energy. Before the next round of investment, the two sides are first combining part of their existing businesses.

Li Bin said, "In the field of charging and battery swapping, it is particularly easy to calculate the accounts clearly." He disclosed that NIO has invested more than 20 billion yuan over 11 years, and more than 85% of the electricity in its charging network comes from other brands. An Conghui also emphasized that investment must continue, but risks should be reduced and scale expanded faster through cooperation.

Li Bin also did not avoid the competition between the two companies in the auto market. "If we talk about competition, there will be no cooperation. This is actually not a good business logic." In his view, charging and battery swapping already have the foundation for interconnection and co-construction and sharing, and this is an area where the two sides can relatively easily reach consensus.

Geely Auto (ASX: None) Group CEO Gan Jiayue also put it bluntly: "We do technology very well, but communicating with the market and customers is still our problem." In addition to safety and speed, he repeatedly emphasized convenience. Geely wants to roll out its newly released fast-charging technology to users as soon as possible.

On the battery-swapping side, Qin Lihong has already started calculating the accounts for Hangzhou.

NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) co-founder and President Qin Lihong said that the day before, he specifically checked Hangzhou's urban planning data. NIO and Geely already have more than 100 battery-swapping stations combined in Hangzhou. He envisioned that if the stations are fully interconnected, evenly distributed, and combined with intelligent scheduling, in theory vehicles could reach a station within about a 5-minute drive.

For operating vehicles that run on the road every day, less time spent on energy replenishment can become more time for taking orders. Qin Lihong estimated that relying on a high-quality battery-swapping network, an operating vehicle can save up to 90 minutes per day, and operating income is expected to increase by 15% to 20%. He also made clear that this is still a target scenario that requires continued effort to achieve.

Qin Lihong also mentioned that battery-swapping stations can undertake battery asset operations, and through battery leasing and scheduling, reduce residual value losses caused by the different service lives of vehicles and batteries. For operating fleets, battery swapping is also related to the cost over the entire vehicle usage cycle.

This is exactly the kind of demand that Geely Auto (ASX: None) brings. Yiyi Interconnection has built more than 420 battery-swapping stations, covering more than 50 cities, serving operating vehicles including Cao Cao Mobility, and has also accumulated experience in high-frequency battery swapping, vehicle scheduling, and battery maintenance. For NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO), which already has 4,126 domestic battery-swapping stations, the partner brings not only station-building resources, but also vehicles that will continue to use the network.

After the revenue estimates for operating vehicles spread, NIO owners also became concerned: how will their own battery-swapping experience be affected?

Li Bin's answer was "better and better, more and more convenient." The two sides plan to operate two battery-swapping networks, one for individual users and one for operating vehicles, sharing R&D, supply chain, manufacturing, and operational capabilities. Qin Lihong also specifically responded to the concerns of private users: more resources will be used to accelerate station construction and improve the experience with a denser network.

Geely Auto (ASX: None) will develop battery-swapping models for individual users, with services provided by NIO Energy. In addition to operating fleets, battery swapping will also seek more private users.

Li Bin introduced that the fifth-generation battery-swapping station has improved model compatibility, providing a foundation for opening up to more brands. The two sides will also jointly promote battery-swapping technology and standards for individual users.

The next type of demand the two sides are eyeing also includes Robotaxi.

An Conghui explicitly mentioned that they will expand battery-swapping scenarios based on Cao Cao Mobility's fleet and Robotaxi layout. Cao Cao Mobility previously disclosed that Hangzhou's "Green Intelligent Transportation Island" has functions such as automatic battery swapping, automatic cleaning, and vehicle preparation.

For autonomous driving fleets to operate continuously, energy replenishment must also minimize manual intervention and downtime. The space for further cooperation between the two companies lies in connecting automatic battery swapping, vehicle scheduling, and battery management. NIO's years of investment in battery swapping therefore also has a chance to get close to a group of new operating customers.

Li Bin even extended the calculation to the energy business: the two sides are discussing sharing power facilities so that the same power supply resource can serve two battery-swapping networks and Geely's charging facilities, and further explore power trading. More vehicles entering stations not only brings energy replenishment demand, but also adds room for the utilization of facilities and batteries.

At present, auto giants and battery giants are also continuing to increase their bets in the energy replenishment battle. When automakers compete for sales in the next round, the money spent on energy replenishment in the past will continue to play a role.

The battery-swapping network that NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) has built over many years will serve the consumer-facing battery-swapping models that Geely Auto (ASX: None) plans to launch. Making the business after selling the car last longer will become a new space for automakers to compete for in the next stage.