NIO sees battery swap network in China hit 1,500-station milestone

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, announced today that as of June 25, 2023, it has already deployed 1,500 battery swap stations and 2,727 charging stations with 16,204 charging piles installed nationwide.

NIO is eager to accelerate the construction of battery swap stations to enhance its competitiveness. In February of this year, NIO's founder, William Bin Li, stated in a post that the company would revise its target for the construction of battery swap stations. The initial goal of adding 400 stations in 2023 has been raised to 1,000. Of those, approximately 400 stations will be built at highway service areas or exits, while around 600 stations will be deployed in urban areas, with a focus on third- and fourth-tier cities and counties where there is a considerable user base but no existing battery swap stations.

Photo credit: NIO

William Bin Li also mentioned that NIO is in talks with other automakers to share battery swap stations and use NIO's swap model for developing new vehicles. However, he noted that it will take a few years for these collaborations to develop and introduce new cars.

NIO announced on June 20 that it has reached a share subscription agreement with CYVN Holdings L.L.C. (referred to as the "Investor" or "CYVN Holdings"), an investment entity primarily owned by the Abu Dhabi Government focused on advanced and smart mobility.

Under the agreement, the Investor will invest a total of US$738.5 million in cash to subscribe to 84,695,543 newly issued Class A ordinary shares of NIO at a per share purchase price of US$8.72 (referred to as the “Investment Transaction”).

Meanwhile, NIO said it is aware that the Investor has entered into a share purchase agreement with a Tencent affiliate, whereby the Investor will purchase 40,137,614 Class A ordinary shares of NIO owned by the affiliate (the "Secondary Share Transfer").

Upon the completion of both the Investment Transaction and Secondary Share Transfer, the Investor will hold approximately 7.0% of the total issued and outstanding shares of NIO.