Nio Power and Zhongan Energy signed a new strategic cooperation agreement on June 26, 2026, with plans to jointly build 500 battery swap stations in China within one year. Credit: Nio
- The signing is the latest progress after the delivery of the first batch of 50 jointly built swap stations in December 2025.
- Nio Power and Zhongan will roll out the “technology operation + asset holding” model nationwide.
Nio Power, the energy unit of Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), has signed a new strategic cooperation agreement with Zhongan Energy, planning to jointly build 500 battery swap stations in China within one year.
The two sides completed the signing on June 25, with Zhongan Energy chairman Wu Guanqiong and Nio Power vice president Guo Chenggang signing on behalf of the two parties, according to a statement on Friday.
Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li, as well as Nio CFO and Nio Power head Stanley Qu, attended and witnessed the event. Liu Wenfeng, deputy director of the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and Li Ming, general manager of Anhui Province Energy Group, were also present.
The signing marks major progress after the two sides completed the signing and delivery of the first batch of 50 swap stations in December 2025. It also signals that Nio Power’s “technology operation + asset holding” cooperation model is moving from regional pilots to nationwide replication, Nio said.
Under the model, Nio handles swap technology and daily operations, while partners hold heavy assets such as the swap stations. This helps Nio share the capital burden of infrastructure construction.
The two sides said they will integrate resources and unlock synergies, jointly advancing the deployment and long-term operation of the charging and swapping network across the country.
Zhongan Energy is the core vehicle for this strategy. The company was established in January 2024 with the support of the Anhui provincial government, and is jointly funded by parties including Anhui Province Energy Group, Nio and Gotion High-tech (SZSE: 002074).
Zhongan Energy’s original goal was to build 1,000 stations integrating energy storage, charging and swapping functions. Its layout first takes root in Anhui, then expands to the Yangtze River Delta and the rest of the country.
The first batch of 50 stations went into operation in Anhui province in December 2025. The 500 stations added in this round mean the cooperation is accelerating significantly.
For Nio, relying on partners to share costs has become a key strategy. The company has slowed the pace of its infrastructure expansion over the past two years to control capital spending.
Nio launched its “Power Up Partner” program in August 2024, and has since jointly built hundreds of stations with partners.
Nio added 679 swap stations in 2024 and 681 in 2025, with the pace of expansion clearly turning more cautious, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
Even so, Nio has maintained its goal of adding more than 1,000 swap stations in China this year. Achieving this goal increasingly depends on such cooperation models.
The expanded cooperation with Zhongan Energy also aligns with Nio’s new progress in swap technology. The company is advancing the deployment of its fifth-generation swap stations.
The fifth-generation stations adopt a thoroughly redesigned architecture that can accommodate a wider range of vehicle wheelbases. This allows them to serve both the large SUV ES9 and the compact Firefly model.
Nio has previously said that the large-scale deployment of fifth-generation swap stations will officially begin in the third quarter of this year. By then, the main Nio brand, the sub-brand Onvo and Firefly will share the swap network.
Yesterday, Firefly, Nio’s compact EV brand, announced that it had begun internal testing of fifth-generation swap stations in several cities in China.
Singapore Standard SS 722 includes technical specifications for battery swap and mobile charging for the first time, with Nio as a key contributor.
