The electric vehicle industry has a speed race fought with cars parked. China's Nio takes about three minutes to swap out an entire battery. Geely Automobile unveiled technology last week that fills a battery from 10% to 70% in four minutes and 30 seconds. Yet the two companies competing on speed have joined hands. Geely will take a 30% stake in Nio's charging and battery-swap business, while Nio takes a 10% stake in Geely's charging business. They plan to jointly develop battery-swap standards and compatible vehicles, and to open the door to other manufacturers. Competitors when selling cars, partners when charging.
No matter how fast the charging, it means nothing if drivers must travel far to find a station. Nio has more than 4,000 battery-swap stations, but no single company can cover every junction across a country. Geely also needs enormous investment to spread its charging technology. Sharing facilities and technology splits the cost and expands the customer base. Chinese battery maker Gotion and Germany's Volkswagen have also agreed to take cross stakes in battery plants in Europe and elsewhere. Chinese firms are recruiting partners in charging infrastructure and overseas battery supply chains.
Korea has stepped into the middle of this competition. BYD taxis now run through Seoul. BYD sold 17,523 units in Korea from January through August this year and ranked fourth among imported car brands in August sales. Zeekr, part of the Geely group, plans to begin delivering electric vehicles to Korean customers in October. Priced in the 50 million to 70 million won range (roughly $36,000 to $50,000), it is aiming even at the premium market. The days of viewing Chinese cars as nothing more than a cheap ride are over.
Just as gas stations do not discriminate by car brand, a charging network gains strength as more vehicles can use it. Whether the common standard from Nio and Geely spreads widely remains to be seen. But when multiple companies share the same network, users increase and further investment becomes easier. If Chinese cars' domestic sales are the competition of today, charging networks and standards are the competition of tomorrow. Chinese firms are jointly building charging networks that will accept even rivals' cars. Korea, too, must move beyond building good cars and step into the competition to expand charging networks and create common standards.
