(Source: Beijing Electronic Zone High-Tech Group)

Nio's battery swap station construction is moving ahead at a rapid pace, as the electric vehicle company's circle of friends continues to expand.

Shanghai-listed Beijing Electronic Zone High-Tech Group said Friday it has recently entered into a partnership with Nio to bring the latter's second-generation battery swap station into its digital new media innovation industrial park in Beijing.

The two sides will conduct in-depth discussions and cooperation on brand building, product innovation and green living, the company said.

Nio's secure smart services and innovative product experiences will help build the Beijing Electronic Zone's "culture + technology" smart life ecology, the company said.

The company's announcement provides no further information, and Nio has not yet announced the partnership.

We suspect the partnership may only involve Nio building a second-generation battery swap station in the Beijing Electronic Zone's Innovation Park.

Although limited in number, this is the first time we have seen Nio enter into a similar partnership with an industrial park and is expected to serve as a model for more such partnerships.

Beijing Electronic Zone was founded in 1986 and listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on May 24, 1993.

Its main business is real estate project development, and its main products and services include real estate sales, new technology services, advertising and media, and product sales.

Its share price was up about 4 percent at one point in early trading on Friday.

Back to Nio, its first second-generation battery swap station in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province in eastern China, went into operation Friday, bringing its total number of this energy replenishment facility in China to 261.

Nio's goal is to have 500 battery swap stations in China by the end of this year, and it will need a large number of partners to reach that goal.

On April 15, Nio signed a strategic partnership agreement with fossil fuel giant Sinopec and opened its first second-generation battery swap station at one of the latter's gas stations in Beijing.

Following the signing of the agreement, Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said the company has already partnered with State Grid, China Southern Power Grid, Dongguan Development (Holdings), and Shenzhen Bus Group Company. Nearly 100 third-party partners will be added this year to collaborate on the construction of battery swap stations, he said.

NIO's 250th battery swap station comes online, halfway to this year's goal