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NIO sells 30% of battery swap unit to Geely at more than $2 billion
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NIO has struck definitive agreements to sell a 30% stake in NIO Power, the subsidiary operating its battery swap stations and charging network, to a Geely Holding subsidiary at a post-money valuation of roughly RMB16 billion ($2.4 billion), the company announced Sunday. The deal marks the first time a major automaker has committed real assets and cash to NIO's swap ecosystem, rather than signing another letter of intent. It also hands NIO a partner with the manufacturing scale and fleet relationships needed to turn its proprietary infrastructure into an industry standard. Both transactions remain subject to regulatory approval.
The agreement caps years of quiet groundwork. NIO first announced plans to open its swap network to other automakers back in 2021, and signed a strategic swapping partnership with Geely in November 2023 covering joint standards for private and commercial vehicles. That arrangement was largely a handshake; this one is backed by a contributed business and a check. NIO's Power unit previously raised RMB1.5 billion in May 2024 from the Wuhan Guangchuang fund, while CATL said in March 2025 that it was advancing an investment capped at RMB2.5 billion β a figure that does not appear in today's ownership table.
The structure is unusually intricate. Geely's subsidiary contributes 100% of Yiyi Internet Technology (Chongqing), a commercial swap operator, plus RMB640 million ($94 million) in cash. Post-closing, NIO China holds 63.6%, Geely 30%, and Wuhan Guangchuang 6.4%. Geely's stake can be trimmed to a floor of 20% based on operational milestones, and it holds an option to inject another RMB640 million within two years β or sooner if NIO Power raises fresh capital β lifting it to 34% while cutting NIO to 60%.
At the headline valuation, a 30% slice is worth about RMB4.8 billion; stripping out the cash implies NIO is valuing Yiyi at just over RMB4.1 billion ($610 million). The milestone clause effectively protects NIO if that contribution underdelivers. In a parallel transaction, NIO China subscribes for newly issued shares in Zhejiang Haohan Energy Technology, Geely's charging arm, taking 10% β with Haohan using the proceeds to buy part of NIO's charging assets, an indirect trade of infrastructure for equity.
The network itself is substantial: NIO passed 100 million cumulative swaps in February with 3,790 stations, set a single-day record of 175,976 swaps, and is targeting 1,000 more stations this year. Swapping underpins the Battery-as-a-Service pricing that let NIO launch the ES9 flagship SUV at $54,000. Building it, however, has been costly enough that NIO has long sought a co-investor.
NIO is not bargaining from weakness. It delivered 107,658 vehicles in Q2 2026, posted an 18.5% vehicle margin and a small non-GAAP profit, though it still lost RMB528 million on a GAAP basis while holding RMB56.7 billion in cash. Notably, the implied valuation has barely moved since 2024 despite a far larger station count.
For Geely β parent of Geely Auto, Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Volvo Cars and Polestar β Yiyi brings commercial fleet swapping expertise, and preliminary plans exist to extend swapping to consumer models across Geely-related brands. Execution now hinges on regulatory clearance and milestone performance.
The deal fits a broader shift toward industry consolidation of EV infrastructure, as automakers conclude that proprietary charging and swap networks are unsustainable alone and that shared standards, rather than scale alone, will decide the winners.
