Build the world's largest passenger vehicle battery swap network
On March 18, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL, 300750.SZ), a Chinese new energy technology company, and NEXTEV CO.,LTD. (NIO, 09866.HK), a Chinese new energy automobile company, jointly announced a strategic cooperation agreement. The two companies will collaborate to create the world's largest battery swap network for passenger vehicles and promote the standardization of industry technical standards. New models developed by NIO's Firefly brand will be seamlessly integrated into CATL's battery swap standard and network in due course, with both networks operating in a "dual-network parallel" mode.
In addition to the battery swap cooperation, CATL is advancing a strategic investment of no more than CNY 2.5 billion in NIO Energy, the operational entity of NIO's battery swap stations and charging pile network.
NIO is the only domestic automaker that has heavily invested in the battery swap business. Since the launch of its first battery swap station in 2018, NIO has built a total of 3,178 battery swap stations, accounting for about two-thirds of the domestic market share. Over the past seven years, NIO has been constructing approximately 500 stations annually.
CATL is a latecomer to the battery swap sector. At its battery swap business conference at the end of 2024, CATL disclosed its 2025 battery swap station construction target of "1,000 stations within one year, covering more than 30 cities." With each battery swap station costing more than CNY 1 million, CATL is expected to invest at least CNY 1 billion to achieve its annual station construction target this year, excluding costs for batteries, civil works, and site rental.