Shanghai (ZXZC)- NIO and the government of Hefei in the eastern Anhui province, the startup's major new backer, attempt to jointly build a total of 40 battery swapping stations in 2020 and 2021, according to a local media report.

The 20 battery swapping stations are expected to be set up this year first at state-owned public parking lots, said the local media outlet. Hefei Electric Vehicle Charging Facility Investment Operation Co.,Ltd. (Hefei Charge) is accountable for the construction work.

Chinese government is supportive of battery swapping model. In May, the “battery swapping station” was officially written into the Report on the Work of the Government as an important part of new infrastructure construction.

(Photo source: NIO)

China will step up efforts to advance the construction of battery swap infrastructure in the latest move to promote quality growth of the new-energy vehicle (NEV) sector, Xin Guobin, vice minister of MIIT, told a press conference on July 23. The battery swap mode will be piloted in regions including Beijing and Hainan, Xin added.

NIO is among the Chinese automakers standing at the forefront in developing battery swapping model. On August 20, the startup launched the Battery as a Service (the “BaaS”) subscription model, which allows users to purchase electric vehicles and subscribe the usage of battery packs separately.

At the same time, NIO announced the establishment of Wuhan Weineng Battery Asset Co.,Ltd., which will take charge of the newly-launched BaaS business. Aside from NIO, Wuhan Weineng also has another three shareholders, including the Chinese power battery giant CATL, which holds 25% of equity stake.

“NIO has deployed 143 battery swap stations across 64 cities in China, and completed over 800,000 battery swaps for our users. The advantages of our chargeable, swappable and upgradable battery swap technologies will continue to enhance competitiveness of NIO products, promote conversion to our premium smart EVs and create more values for our users,” William Bin Li, founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of NIO, said then.