The head of NIO’s Europe Operations says the company may be open to sharing its battery swap technology with other automakers, according to Automotive News Europe.
Managing Director of NIO Europe Hui Zhang said to journalists at a Norwegian event last week that the EV startup was already talking to other automakers, without naming any specific companies.
NIO declined additional details, when asked if it was in talks for licensing its technology or some sort of other agreement.
Battery swapping technology lets drivers take just five minutes to switch their empty car batteries for fully-charged units.
NIO Seen as the Top EV Maker in China for 2022 by Deutsche Bank https://t.co/kGH13segdF
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) March 31, 2022
NIO hopes to sell consumers on battery swapping, but it could also let other automakers use the service — not dissimilar to Tesla opening its Supercharger stations to other electric vehicles (EVs).
While NIO launched in Norway last year, the automaker plans to expand to more of Europe later this year, including plans to launch in Germany.
NIO launched its first battery swap station in Norway in January, and it plans to install a total of 20 in the country.
The automaker has also joined the Danish Car Importer’s Association, hinting at an upcoming launch in Denmark.
The automaker currently has a total of 868 battery swap stations in China, and has swapped batteries for its customers 7.6 million times.
The Chinese automaker plans to expand sales into Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany later in 2022. It will debut its ET7 sedan in Germany, a rival to the BMW 7 series.
