- NIO formalized delivery of 10 battery swap stations with CETD Group and will co-build 20 more, scaling SOE partnerships to reduce capital intensity and accelerate network rollouts across Hunan.
- NIO reports 4,206 battery swap stations within 9,729 total charging/swap sites, 31,882 charging piles, and cumulative infrastructure investment exceeding RMB 20 billion (about $3.00 billion).
- The move targets competing public charging and fleet operators, but execution risks include heavy upfront capex, dependence on SOE cooperation, V2G regulatory hurdles, and the need for continued scale to reach commercial viability.
On Oct. 28, NIO Power and local state-owned enterprise CETD Group held a ceremony in Changsha.
The two sides officially delivered the first 10 industry-cooperation battery swap stations and announced the start of co-construction on 20 more in the second batch.
The partnership will expand to cover key cities, transport hubs and industrial parks across Hunan province.
Meanwhile, NIO Power continues to scale up its battery swap network through cooperation with local SOEs.
The two parties are also working together on site operations and maintenance, as well as data and information management.
They plan to deepen cooperation in smart energy management systems and virtual power plant integration, exploring ways for battery swap facilities to participate in grid balancing and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications.
Battery swap networks are capital-intensive infrastructure projects that require substantial upfront investment. Their commercial viability depends on achieving sufficient scale.
By bringing in state-owned partners, NIO can reduce its investment burden per battery swap station to around 40% of the cost under a fully self-funded construction model, allowing it to expand with a more asset-light approach.
NIO Power has continued to replicate this model throughout 2026.
On Aug. 12, NIO Power and Optics Valley Transportation Group completed the handover of the first 36 jointly developed charging and battery swap stations in Wuhan.
On Aug. 27, NIO Power and Science City (Guangzhou) Investment Group Co., Ltd. handed over the first 23 jointly developed battery swap stations in Guangzhou’s Huangpu district.
On Sep. 8, a new batch of 10 highway battery swap stations jointly built by NIO Power and Yunnan Communications Investment Group entered operation.
On Sep.r 18, NIO Power signed an agreement with China Huaneng Group to explore opportunities for battery swap stations to participate in virtual power plants, electricity trading, and green electricity and green certificate businesses.
To date, NIO Power has partnered with more than 40 local SOE platforms and financial institutions across 25 provinces, municipalities and regions, jointly developing more than 900 battery swap stations.
Across its overall network, NIO had built 9,729 charging and battery swap stations as of Oct. 29.
This includes 4,206 battery swap stations and 5,523 charging stations, with 31,882 charging piles installed.
According to the company, its cumulative investment in charging and battery swap technology and infrastructure has exceeded RMB 20 billion ($3.00 billion).
NIO has provided more than 129 million battery swap services to date, while total charging and battery swap service sessions have surpassed 230 million.
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