Four Chinese conglomerates officially announced today that they partnered up to install thousands of battery swapping stations for electric vehicles. SAIC Motor took the lead on this joint venture called Jieneng Smart Power. It aims to install swapping stations all over China, provide battery leasing services, prioritize the need for a universal swappable battery pack design, and initiate big data operations by using the information gathered from both swapping and charging stations.

Related Article: CATL launches battery swapping business EVOGO

CATL, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery maker, plays a crutial part in this partnership. Sinopec and PetroChina are also shareholders of the new battery-swapping business. Lastly, SAIC Motor made a deal with China’s one of the largest automotive-focused industrial zones Anting Shanghai International Automobile City to become a partner.

The Chinese government has been supporting the battery swapping business by offering generous incentives for years. By 2025, there will be more than 28,000 swapping stations in China. To achieve that companies like SAIC have been investing billions of yuan to develop and commercialize their vehicles with swappable battery packs. CATL will help SAIC Motor by providing its next-gen battery packs and battery swapping technologies.

SAIC will challenge NIO to become battery-swapping market’s leader

SAIC Motor is China’s second biggest EV maker. It has a strong brand portfolio which includes MG, Roewe, Maxus, Baojun, Wuling, Zhiji Motors, and Rising Auto. Chinese automaker will launch multiple vehicles with swappable batteries across different marques. The first swapping stations will be installed alongside Sinopec and PetroChina’s gas stations. These two petroleum giants have more than 50,000 stations actively serving Chinese drivers. From now on, there will be battery swapping and high-speed charging units alongside gas-filling stations.

SAIC Motor’s high-end electric SUV called Rising Auto R7 is the first vehicle to benefit from this swapping business. Shanghai-based company will call its stations ‘Rising Power’. It will challenge NIO to create China’s largest battery swapping network. NIO currently has more than 1,200 swapping stations in the world.