Chinese companies NIO and CATL signed a strategic partnership to advance the high-quality development of the new energy vehicle industry by building a battery swapping network for passenger vehicles across the full range of products, unifying industry technical standards, enhancing capital and business collaboration, and providing efficient recharging solutions for users.
Building on this, the two companies will also pursue capital cooperation. CATL is currently advancing an investment capped at RMB 2.5 billion (316 billion euros) in NIO Power, further cementing this strategic partnership. Through exchange and cooperation in technology, capital, and business, NIO and CATL will achieve a synergistic effect where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Mr. Yang Jun, the General Manager of Battery Swap Business of CATL, and Dr. Shen Fei, Senior Vice President of NIO, signed the agreement, with William Li, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NIO, and Dr. Robin Zeng, founder, chairman and CEO of CATL on-site to witness the event. The signing ceremony was also attended by Stanley Qu, CFO of NIO, Alan Zeng, Senior Vice President of NIO, David Han, Co-President of Sales&Marketing System of CATL, James Wang, Chief Investment Officer of CATL, and Joseph Zheng, CFO of CATL, and other distinguished guests.
Under the agreement, both parties, riding on the transformation and upgrade trends in the global automotive industry, will collaborate to create the largest and most advanced battery swapping service network for passenger vehicles, leveraging their respective strengths in technology, management, platforms, and brand influence. Building on unified battery standards, the two parties will strengthen the sharing of their battery swapping networks, and accelerate the adoption and advancement of battery swapping services.
CATL will support NIO in developing the battery swapping network, while its Choco-Swap technical standards and network will be introduced to the subsequent newly developed models of firefly, NIO’s new brand. The networks of both parties will operate in parallel, offering EV users a more seamless and efficient swapping experience, thus making BEV travel more convenient.
Both parties will jointly drive the formulation and adoption of national standards for battery swapping technology in China, further enhancing battery compatibility across various brands and models. Together, they will establish a complete lifecycle loop that encompasses battery R&D, swapping services, asset management, reutilization, and material recycling, helping reduce costs and improve efficiency across the entire value chain of new energy vehicles while ensuring safety.
William Li, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NIO, said: “The strategic cooperation between NIO and CATL marks a pivotal moment, propelling battery swapping into a brand-new phase. With the support from CATL, NIO’s swapping network will extend to more regions and provide better services. This cooperation is beyond capital investment—it facilitates mutual empowerment in technological standards and service systems. NIO has maintained an open approach in fields such as charging and swapping network and battery asset management, aiming to bring the ‘Chargeable, Swappable, Upgradeable’ solution to a broader user base and accelerate the transition of the automotive industry towards green and low-carbon development.”
Robin Zeng, Founder, Chairman, and General Manager of CATL, remarked: “CATL has always been committed to driving the global energy transition. This strategic partnership with NIO Power marks a milestone in collaborative innovation across the entire value chain. Leveraging our Choco-Swap and the parallel operations of both CATL’s and NIO’s networks, we are able to build a smart power network that caters to a wide range of needs across multiple levels and dimensions. This will enable every battery to deliver greater value throughout its lifecycle, and allow us to provide global users with safer, more efficient, and more sustainable electric mobility solutions.”
In March 2024, NIO and CATL signed a framework agreement to jointly promote innovation in the R&D of long-life batteries.
As the automotive brand that owns the most chargers and battery swapping stations in China, NIO has built 3,172 Power Swap Stations. Its expressway Power Swap network connects 18 backbone expressways and 14 city clusters, featuring nearly 1,000 Power Swap Stations along expressways and covering over 700 cities. This extensive network enables seamless battery swapping when travelling across most major cities in China.
NIO will continuously complement and extend its Power Swap network. By June 30, 2025, the network will cover over 1,200 county-level divisions in 14 provincial-level administrative regions in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong. By December 31, 2025, more than 2,300 county-level divisions in 27 provincial-level administrative regions will be covered.
Additionally, NIO is committed to building an operational and management system for EV battery swapping. It has formed all-round, multi-level strategic partnerships with automakers including Chang’an Automobile, Geely Holding, Chery Automobile, JAC Group, GAC Group, FAW Group, and Lotus.
