NIO unveils county-level deployment ambition for EV charging, battery swap network

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On August 20th, during the Power UP 2024 event, NIO announced its county-level charging accessibility plan, marking the beginning of a new chapter for NIO's expansion of electric vehicle charging and battery swapping network.

The goal of this plan is to establish electric vehicle charging stations in every county across all provincial-level administrative regions in China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan) by June 30, 2025. Additionally, NIO aims to achieve the deployment of battery swap stations in all counties across 14 provincial-level regions in the country. By December 31, 2024, this initiative will let its power swap facilities expand to cover 27 provincial-level regions, reaching over 2,300 counties. Starting in 2026, NIO plans to extend this coverage to the remaining provincial-level regions, ensuring that more users can benefit from the best power replenishment services available across the industry.

NIO Power Swap Station 4.0; photo credit: NIO

NIO recognizes that the development of infrastructure is a collective effort requiring support from various sectors. Thus, during the event, NIO also introduced a partnership program, inviting partners with land, electricity resources, or financial strength to join in the construction of the charging and battery swap network. The program offers three collaboration models:

(1) Charging station franchise

Partners provide the site, electricity, and construction, while NIO Power supplies the equipment, platform, operations, and maintenance. Revenue from service fees is shared between NIO and the partner. This model is ideal for those with land and electricity resources.

(2) Fixed-income charging and battery swap stations

Partners invest in equipment and the site, while NIO Power handles site selection, and facility construction, operations, and maintenance. This model is suited for partners seeking long-term, stable returns with fixed service fee income.

(3) Guaranteed minimum income + revenue sharing

The partner is responsible for investing in the equipment and site, while NIO Power handles site selection, and facility construction, operation, and maintenance. This model is suitable for partners who are optimistic about the industry's future growth and are seeking potentially higher returns. The partner will receive a guaranteed minimum income along with a share of the service fee revenue.

Since 2018, NIO has collaborated with over 3,000 companies across various industries, including transportation, energy, real estate, and tourism, to build nearly 7,000 charging and battery swap stations.

Meanwhile, NIO has also established comprehensive strategic partnerships with major automakers such as FAW Group, Changan Automobile, GAC Group, Geely Holding, Chery Automobile, JAC Group, and Lotus, further expanding its battery swap ecosystem.

The cooperation process for potential charging partners involves several stages: application, qualification review, intention communication, project evaluation, agreement signing, and construction and operation.