Chairman William Li and CATL Chairman Robin Zheng met with Hefei government officials on Wednesday to discuss expanding cooperation in new energy vehicles and battery swap services, as the two companies deepen a partnership that began seven years ago.
Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, is home to Nio‘s three electric vehicle production plants.
However, the relationship between Nio and Hefei extends beyond manufacturing.
In September 2024, Nio announced an investment agreement with three Hefei and Anhui-based investors for its China subsidiary, Nio China.
Hefei Jianheng New Energy Automobile Investment Fund Partnership, Anhui Provincial Emerging Industry Investment Co., and CS Capital Co. committed to investing an aggregate of 3.3 billion yuan ($400 million) in cash, while Nio Inc. invested 10 billion yuan to subscribe for newly issued shares of Nio China.
Meeting with Hefei Government
Hefei Party Secretary Fei Gaoyun held a working meeting with both delegations on Thursday, according to local outlet Hefei Daily.
Fei said the city is developing emerging industrial clusters in new energy and intelligent connected vehicles and expressed hope that both companies would increase investment and “jointly build an integrated and symbiotic industrial ecosystem.”
Zeng and Li said Hefei has “strong development momentum and a favorable innovation ecosystem,” with the new energy vehicle industry showing strong growth.
Robin Zheng, the founder and CEO of the world’s largest EV battery maker, received one of the first Nio ET9 vehicles last April, with Li handing over the keys at the Shanghai Auto Show.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the executives said they are willing to “deepen pragmatic cooperation in areas such as new energy vehicles and battery swap network services, and the low-altitude economy.”
Partnership History
CATL has supplied batteries for Nio since the automaker’s first mass-production vehicle, the original ES8, launched in 2018.
The relationship expanded significantly in early 2024 when the companies signed a framework agreement focused on long-life battery technology tailored to Nio‘s swap network.
Under the deal, CATL committed to developing battery systems with extended service lives for Nio‘s upcoming models, addressing concerns about replacement costs and residual value degradation from battery attenuation.
In March 2025, the partnership deepened further when CATL announced an investment of up to 2.5 billion yuan ($303 million) in Nio Power, the EV maker’s battery charging and swapping unit.
The two companies said they aimed to build the world’s largest battery swapping network and promote industry-wide standardization.
“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,” Nio said at the time.
Shortly after the investment announcement, Nio Power chief Shen Fei, a longtime executive, left the unit to lead the company’s Onvo sub-brand in an unexpected move.
Chief Financial Officer Yu Qu was named as his replacement.
Competing Swap Networks
The collaboration comes as both companies operate separate battery swap networks.
CATL unveiled its own “Chocolate Swap” system in December 2024, using standardized modules designed for cross-brand compatibility.
The battery maker’s first product families include 42 kWh and 56 kWh lithium iron phosphate packs and 52 kWh and 70 kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese packs, offering driving ranges from 400 to 600 kilometers.
CATL is targeting 1,000 stations by the end of this year, 2,500 in 2026, and more than 2,000 in 2027, covering over 100 cities.
By comparison, Nio opened its first station in early 2018 and has built approximately 3,700 over less than eight years.
Under the March agreement, the two companies committed to sharing their battery swap networks based on unified battery standards.
Firefly Integration Shift
Plans for Nio‘s upcoming Firefly sub-brand to use CATL‘s Chocolate Swap stations have since been canceled.
Firefly will instead integrate with Nio‘s upcoming fifth-generation battery swap stations.
Pilots are planned to begin before the year end with the first fifth generation stations expected to open in China during the first quarter of 2026.
As reported on Thursday, Nio is piloting a new retail cooperation model in its domestic market that allows users to open stores while the company provides sales staff.
Under the arrangement, Nio does not provide financial support to store operators but dispatches sales consultants, known internally as Fellows, to sell vehicles on-site, the local outlet Lanjinger reported earlier this week.
