Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X

China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Tuesday it will draft guidelines to promote the battery swapping model as part of broader plan to sustain the growth of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry in the country.

At a press conference held by the State Council Information Office, Vice Minister Zhang Yunming said efforts would focus on advancing research and development in key technologies such as next-generation batteries.

In December, China recorded sales of 762,000 all-electric cars, representing 58.5% of total new energy vehicle (NEV) retail sales.

Overall, retail sales of passenger NEVs reached 1.302 million units for the month, marking the fifth consecutive month surpassing 1 million units and reflecting a 37.5% year-on-year increase.

The government plans to implement policies, including purchase tax reductions and vehicle trade-in programs, to encourage an even higher NEV adoption. Additionally, China will pilot projects to transition public sector fleets to electric vehicles and increase the use of NEVs in critical areas.

“Guidelines will be developed to promote the battery-swapping model, accelerate pilot projects for full electrification of public sector vehicles, and deepen the application of NEVs in key areas,” MIIT’s statement says.

The Ministry is also working on refining policies to manage automakers’ emissions credits and is exploring systems to monitor carbon emissions and battery carbon footprints. This includes plans to develop standards for international recognition.

The ministry is further studying management models for automakers to improve efficiency and enhance competition.

“Research will be conducted on introducing group-based management for vehicle manufacturers, supporting leading companies in enhancing efficiency and strengthening their competitive edge,” China’s MIIT said on Tuesday. “Additionally, efforts will be made to regulate market competition and continuously optimize the industrial ecosystem.”

Last month, the company unveiled two standardized battery models, the ‘#20’ and the ‘#25,’ and said it expects the need for 30,000 battery swap stations in China in the EV era.

CATL aims to integrate energy storage, charging, and swapping while supporting B2G (battery-to-grid) functionality, serving as 30,000 distributed energy storage units.

At Nio’s fourth-generation stations, drivers can replace their vehicle’s battery with one that is approximately 90-95% charged in less than five minutes. As of Tuesday, the company has 3,050 battery swap stations in China and about 60 in Europe.

Nio’s battery swap alliance includes automakers such as Chery, Geely Holding, Changan Automobile, FAW Group, Nio’s former manufacturing partner JAC, Lotus, Jidu, and GAC Group.

The Geely-Baidu joint venture Jidu, also known as Jiyue, became the eighth member of the alliance in September 2024. However, the company is currently in financial trouble and fighting for survival.

Over the next 1-2 years, several carmakers will launch new models compatible with Nio’s battery swap stations. To guarantee that supply will be able to meet the increasing demand, the EV maker has promised to build 2,000 new stations in China this year.

After Chery stated earlier this month that it expects to launch the first two battery-swap-compatible models in the third quarter of this year, the GAC Group told EV last week that it is currently waiting for internal approval on the model development.

Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X