Li Shufu Says Geely Fully Endorses Battery Swapping Model at 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit Auto Night Talk

On November 5, Li Bin, Founder, Chairman and CEO of NIO, and Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding Group, held a dialogue at the 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit · Automotive Night Talk. This was their first public dialogue since the two sides reached a strategic cooperation on battery charging and swapping on September 28. During the dialogue, Li Shufu stated that Geely fully endorses the battery swapping model. He noted that EV batteries degrade and get damaged, but a vehicle's service life extends well beyond seven, eight or nine years. "Replacing the entire battery pack with a brand-new one is too expensive; disassembling, refurbishing and repairing the battery is equally costly. So battery swapping is the solution to this problem." On September 28, NIO and Geely Holding Group reached a comprehensive strategic cooperation in the battery charging and swapping sector. The two sides reached a consensus on all-round cooperation in technology, operations and capital, and will jointly invest in their respective battery charging and swapping business entities, share battery charging and swapping technologies and standards, and jointly build a battery charging and swapping service network. Under the cooperation, Geely Holding Group will take a stake in NIO Power with its 100% equity in Yiyi Interconnect and 640 million yuan in cash. Upon completion of the transaction, Geely Holding Group will hold a 30% stake in NIO Power, and Yiyi Interconnect's battery swapping business for commercial vehicles will be merged into NIO Power. The two sides will jointly build unified consumer-facing battery swapping technologies and standards; Geely Holding Group will develop consumer-facing battery swapping models, and NIO Power will provide services for Geely Holding Group's consumer-facing battery swapping models.