Benzinga | Mar 22, 2021 09:25AM EDT

Nio Signs Pact With Infrastructure Firm For Battery-Swap Stations In Beijing: What You Need To Know

NIO Limited (NASDAQ:NIO) has signed an agreement with a government infrastructure firm to build battery-swap stations, according to CnEVPost.

What Happened: Nio Power Beijing, a subsidiary of Nio, signed a five-year agreement with state-owned Beijing Shoufa Industrial and Trading Co to put battery-swap stations along the Beijing Capital Ring Expressway, the report said.

The companies are working to promote the use of new energy vehicles and improve the experience of high-speed travel for Beijing residents.

Related Link: Is The Nio Sell-Off Overdone?

Why It's Important: Nio has emphasized its battery swapping technology lately. At its Nio Day event in early January, the company launched the Power Swap Station 2.0, which will increase capacity to 312 swaps per day.

The new swap station is designed so that users can start a self-service swap with one tap on the center display without getting out of the vehicle.

The company aims to have 500 stations in operation nationwide by the end of this year.

See also: How to Buy Nio Stock

It is also speculated that Nio and Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited (NYSE:SHI) are in exploratory talks to set up battery swap stations at Sinopec's gas filling stations. An announcement in this regard could come as early as mid-April, reports suggested.

Nio has also pioneered the concept of battery-as-a-service that would allow users to rent a battery instead of purchasing one, helping to trim the cost for EV owners.

Related Link: Nio Analyst Sees Meaningful Tailwinds For EV Brand's Sales Volume

Photo of Beijing's 2nd Ring Road courtesy Gary Anglebrandt.