
Geely, the Chinese car company, has formed a joint venture with the equally Chinese scooter and motorcycle manufacturer Lifan Technology, of which Geely is the main shareholder. The joint venture, which will go under the brand Ruilan Auto, will develop solutions for battery swapping and build out a network of swapping stations in China. and will incorporate the swapping solutions Geely already has been developing during two years.
Geely which sold over 100,000 electric vehicles in 2021 has previously announced it will build 5,000 swapping stations by 2025. Together with Lifan a first car with swappable battery, the Maple Leaf 60S, was launched in January 2022.
Geely is also the majority owner of Volvo, Polestar, Lotus and London Electric Vehicle Company and has also a 50% share in Smart, of which the other part is owned by Daimler. The company also owns 49.5% of the Malaysian car manufacturer Proton.
Geely's announcement (in Chinese) is here.
Car News China has a great summary in English.