A new company under Xpeng Motors was established in Guangzhou on Tuesday with a business scope including battery swap facility sales, according to data provider Tianyancha.

The company, which is 100 percent owned by Xpeng, has a business scope that includes sales of new energy vehicles, sales of new energy vehicle battery swap facilities, electric vehicle charging infrastructure operations, and sales of distributed AC charging piles.

Xpeng established two new wholly-owned companies in December last year, both of which include sales of new energy vehicle electric accessories and new energy vehicle battery swap facilities.

Nio is currently the leading advocate of the battery swap model among Chinese new energy vehicle companies. Car companies, including Geely, also have battery swappable models but are facing the cab market.

Xpeng's models have non-removable batteries, but the company launched a similar battery rental program similar to Nio after the latter launched its iconic BaaS battery leasing service in August last year.

Xpeng customers have the option to pay the price of the vehicle excluding the battery when they purchase it and pay a monthly lease for the battery, allowing them to buy the vehicle at a lower price.

Xpeng's P7 sedan with an 80.9 kWh battery pack, for example, has a battery pricing of RMB 75,000 ($11,540). Consumers can rent the battery for as low as RMB 580/month.

Xpeng customers who choose to lease the battery will own the battery after 7 years.

In contrast, Nio customers who choose the BaaS plan to purchase the car do not get ownership of the battery.

The Nio model comes standard with a 70kWh capacity battery, which is priced at RMB 70,000. If users choose to rent, the minimum monthly rent is RMB 980.

Since the battery is not removable, Xpeng's battery leasing service is more like selling the battery to consumers in installments, a disguised financial service.

Although Nio users need to keep renting the battery, the battery life has been significantly depleted after 7 years, and there are some differences between the two companies' services by nature.

(Source: Xpeng)