Volvo, Polestar owner partners with NIO for EV battery swapping
Up-and-coming Chinese EV maker NIO is partnering with Geely, the company behind Volvo, Polestar, and several other brands for EV battery swapping.
Volvo owner taps NIO for EV battery swapping
NIO and Geely will collaborate on EV battery standards, new swapping tech, and network expansion. They will also tackle “swappable model development” and battery management.
Battery swapping can help EV drivers get back on the road quickly by replacing a depleted pack with a fully charged one.
NIO says the process can be done in as little as 3 minutes compared to fast charging, which can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour.
According to the press release Wednesday, Geely and NIO will work through a “co-investment, co-construction, shared, co-operative” model.
The plans include developing two battery-swapping standards and accelerating the tech for a convenient, safe experience. Both companies will develop EVs compatible with each other’s battery swap systems.
Geely has around 300 stations up and running and will continue to expand its network. The company said in 2021, it aimed to establish 5,000 swap stations by 2025.
“This strategic partnership will further popularize battery swapping, bring quality and convenient battery swapping experience to more users and contribute to the steady development of the smart EV industry,” said William Li, NIO’s CEO.
NIO expands battery swapping to improve profits
Geely is the second company to partner with NIO. Last week, NIO revealed a partnership with Changan Auto to expand the network.
The news comes as NIO looks to expand its brand and improve profitability. NIO said it would trim staff by 10% earlier this month amid “fierce competition.”
NIO and others in the Chinese EV market are feeling the pressure after leaders like Tesla and BYD drastically slashed prices this year.
In June, NIO cut prices by $4,200 (30,000 yuan) to keep up. However, the EV maker is facing falling margins and profits amid stronger competition. NIO’s losses reached $835M in Q2, up 199% from last year.
After a $1B convertible debt offering in Sept, NIO said it would use the capital to “further strengthen its balance sheet.” At the end of June, NIO had around $1.9B in cash and equivalents.
You can learn more about NIO’s new battery swap tech in the video below.
Electrek’s Take
Despite the struggles, NIO continues to expand its brand. NIO is one of the only major players in the battery swap space, which could prove to be a major advantage going forward.
Similar to how Tesla was a first mover in the US with its Supercharger network, NIO is doing the same with battery swapping. As of last week, NIO has built over 2,100 power swap stations globally.
With Volvo and Polestar’s Geely joining in, we could see others looking to join NIO’s network. We’ll keep you posted on the latest.
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Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.
Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.
However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.
The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.
The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.
Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.
We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.
For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.
Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:
Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:
1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers
WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.
While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.
We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.
Electrek’s Take
It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.
Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?
I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.
Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.
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Environment
Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000
Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.
Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X
The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.
Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).
After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).
The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).
For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.
Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.
Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.
Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.
GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”
At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.
What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.
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