NIO says it and Geely have agreed to cooperate on charging and battery swapping, including shared technologies, connected charging infrastructure and a shared service network in China. NIO also says Geely will take a 30% stake in NIO Power, while NIO will take a 10% stake in Geely subsidiary Haohan Energy.
For my BYD Han in Portugal, this changes nothing today. My car cannot use a NIO battery-swap station, and NIO’s announcement does not say that this agreement brings either charging access or battery swapping to BYD owners in Europe.
Still, this is worth watching. NIO and Geely are not just announcing another charging app or a few new plugs: NIO says they plan to connect infrastructure, share standards and jointly develop battery-swapping technology for consumer cars.
What did NIO and Geely agree on?
NIO says its agreement with Geely covers technology, operations and capital in charging and battery swapping, with the two companies planning to invest jointly, share technologies and standards, and develop a shared service network.
The ownership part is unusually concrete. According to NIO, Geely will invest in NIO Power through a Geely subsidiary and RMB 640 million in cash. Once that transaction is complete, NIO says Geely will own 30% of NIO Power.
NIO also says its commercial battery-swapping business will absorb the battery-swapping operation of that Geely subsidiary. The companies say they will then develop unified battery-swapping technologies and standards for consumer-facing cars, with Geely developing battery-swappable models and NIO Power providing swapping services for them.
That is a bigger arrangement than two brands allowing each other’s customers onto a charger.
How will NIO and Geely connect their charging networks?
NIO says it will invest in Haohan Energy, a Geely subsidiary, and hold a 10% equity stake after the transaction closes. NIO says the two companies will fully connect their charging infrastructure, expand coverage together and improve operational efficiency.
The scale NIO describes is large, even if it is all in China for now. As of 27 September 2026, NIO says its network included 9,433 swapping and charging stations in China: 4,126 battery-swap stations and 5,307 charging stations with 30,598 charging piles.
Geely’s Haohan Energy network, according to NIO’s release, has 2,500 charging stations and more than 12,000 charging connectors across 232 Chinese cities.
| What NIO says each side brings | NIO Power | Geely / Haohan Energy |
|---|---|---|
| Battery-swap and charging stations | 9,433 total stations | Not stated |
| Battery-swap stations | 4,126 | Commercial swapping business to be integrated into NIO Power |
| Charging stations | 5,307 | 2,500 |
| Charging connectors or piles | 30,598 | More than 12,000 |
| Equity stake created by the agreement | Geely to hold 30% of NIO Power | NIO to hold 10% of Haohan Energy |
All figures in this table are NIO’s figures from its 28 September announcement. They describe infrastructure in China, not a network I can use in Portugal.
Does the NIO-Geely partnership help a BYD Han owner in Europe?
No, not today. NIO’s announcement describes cooperation between NIO and Geely in China, and it does not say that BYD vehicles, imported Chinese-market cars or European owners will gain access to these services.
That distinction matters more than the headline. My Han is a Chinese-market car driving in Portugal, but that does not mean every Chinese infrastructure development automatically follows it here.
My own charging reality is much less ambitious: on the Han, I see 50 kW fast charging in about 90% of charging sessions, and getting the battery to roughly half takes around 40 minutes. That is why a serious infrastructure partnership between two Chinese groups catches my attention. The useful question is not whether they have announced “smart charging.” It is whether drivers eventually get more reliable places to charge, more compatible hardware and fewer separate networks.
For now, my practical reference point remains the Han’s real motorway range and charging experience, not a swapping network on the other side of the world.
Why battery swapping is still worth watching
NIO says its network has already provided more than 220 million charging and battery-swapping services, including more than 125 million battery swaps and more than 99 million charging sessions. NIO also says battery swapping has become a mainstream recharging solution for new-energy vehicles in China.
The company says NIO Power aims to operate 10,000 battery-swap stations by 2030. NIO expects annual electricity demand across that network to exceed 10 billion kWh.
Those are NIO’s targets, not proof that battery swapping will become normal in Europe. But the partnership is interesting because it puts charging and swapping into the same discussion: not as competing ideas, but as infrastructure that two large groups say they want to connect.
That is the part I would watch from Portugal. A charger is useful only when it is where you need it, works when you arrive, and accepts your car. Everything else is brochure material.
Will this partnership bring battery swapping to Europe?
NIO’s announcement does not say that the NIO-Geely partnership will bring battery swapping to Europe. It describes Chinese infrastructure, Chinese network figures and plans for consumer-facing battery-swappable models developed by Geely with services provided by NIO Power.
So no, there is no Europe conclusion to draw from this release.
But there is a competitive question. NIO says the collaboration is open to other industry participants, and both companies present connected charging and swapping networks as shared infrastructure. If that model proves commercially useful at scale in China, other manufacturers will have to decide whether they build alone, connect networks, or offer drivers something simpler.
For a BYD owner in Europe, that remains a future question, not a current feature. Ok sure. The car outside is still charging exactly as it did yesterday. 🙂
FAQ
What did NIO and Geely announce on 28 September 2026?
NIO says it and Geely entered a comprehensive strategic partnership covering charging and battery swapping. According to NIO, the cooperation includes investment, shared technologies and standards, connected charging infrastructure, and a shared service network.
Will Geely own part of NIO Power?
Yes. NIO says Geely will invest through a wholly owned subsidiary and RMB 640 million in cash, and will hold a 30% stake in NIO Power once the transaction is completed.
Will NIO own part of Geely’s charging business?
NIO says it will invest in Geely subsidiary Haohan Energy and hold a 10% equity stake after the transaction is completed.
How large is NIO’s charging and battery-swapping network?
NIO says that, as of 27 September 2026, its Chinese network had 9,433 swapping and charging stations, including 4,126 Power Swap Stations and 5,307 charging stations with 30,598 charging piles.
Does this give BYD owners access to NIO charging or battery swapping?
NIO’s announcement does not say that BYD owners will receive access to the partnership’s charging or battery-swapping services. The release describes cooperation between NIO and Geely.
Does this partnership change anything for a BYD Han owner in Portugal?
Not today. My Han still uses the charging infrastructure available to it in Portugal, and NIO’s announcement makes no claim about service access for my car or for BYD owners in Europe.
Source
This post is a comment on a single primary source: the press release published by NIO on 28 September 2026, titled “NIO and Geely Enter into Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Charging and Battery Swapping.”
The original publication is from NIO. Any translation of its original terminology in this post is my own, and every statement here about the agreement, investment structure, network figures, services and future plans is NIO’s account, not mine.
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