Nio taps 3rd state-owned oil producer to build battery-swap stations

Electric-vehicle startup Nio Inc. has partnered with China National Offshore Oil Corp., a state-owned oil producer and distributor, to construct battery swap stations for EV customers in China.

To mark the deal signed on Tuesday, Nio said it commissioned a battery swap station as well as charging piles installed on the site of CNOOC’s gasoline station on the same day in the south China city of Huizhou. 

CNOOC is the third state-owned oil producer Nio has signed up to help expand a network of battery swap stations in China, following China National Petroleum Corp. and China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. 

Nio, established in Shanghai in 2014, has installed 1,500 battery swap stations across China as of June 25.

The EV startup aims to boost the number of its battery swap stations in China to 2,300 by the end of this year.