U Power and Beijing Foton Motors sign battery swapping partnership for heavy EVs

U Power and Beijing Foton International Trade have entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) targeted at introducing battery swapping capabilities to Beijing Foton’s commercial vehicles.

Beijing Foton is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing Foton Motors Co, a Chinese automaker that focuses on electric commercial vehicles. According to the company, it exported 153,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs) in 2024.

The technology will be integrated into compatible electric heavy trucks, buses and vans, utilising U Power’s proprietary modular battery swapping system, UOTTA. Vehicles drive into the UOTTA station and automatic lifting equipment removes and replaces the battery, with minimal input required from drivers. 

The MoU featured U Power developing and testing battery swapping stations for the vehicles, as well as integration of Beijing Foton vehicles into the company’s battery-bank ecosystem. Beijing Foton, meanwhile, planned to capture real-world performance data for batteries and swapping systems, including charging, health and capacity records. 

The initial scope of the MoU covered Southeast Asia, South America, and the Chinese special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. It also contained avenues for potential future collaborative opportunities, though neither company has yet released what this might involve.

U Power pointed to the MoU as a means of strengthening its collaboration with OEMs, as well as facilitating the expansions of battery swapping infrastructure. Johnny Lee, CEO and chairman of U Power, explained: “This partnership marks another significant step forward in our strategy of expanding OEM partner base. Through joint promotional and sales efforts, U Power expects to accelerate the establishment of a comprehensive battery-swapping and battery-bank ecosystem in several of its existing key markets.” 

Other recent examples of EV-related investment in ASEAN include Maylasia’s national automaker, Proton, partnering with several Chinese tier-1 suppliers to localise production of components. Similarly, CATL has broken ground on its new battery facility in Indonesia, which covers the full lifecycle of batteries from mining and refining of components to battery recycling. In both cases, emphasis is placed on the technology and infrastructure required for success – an idea also explored at Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain ASEAN in a panel featuring experts from Continental Automotive and Ascent Global Logistics.