Nio signed an agreement with Chery Automobile and JAC Motors to “co-build an automotive innovation platform,” reuniting with its former manufacturing partner as the three Anhui-based automakers enter a new collaboration.
The signing took place Tuesday at Nio‘s F2 factory in Hefei, with the chief executives of the three companies.
Neither financial nor technical details of the platform were disclosed.
The company celebrated the rollout of its one-millionth mass-produced vehicle, seven and a half years after mass-producing the first one.
“Nio has been deepening collaboration with local partners,” the company wrote on social media, adding that the partnerships are “further fostering an open, collaborative, and win-win industrial ecosystem in Anhui and Hefei.”
Three Partnerships in One Day
The Chery-JAC agreement was one of three partnerships Nio announced Tuesday.
The company also signed a five-year strategic cooperation agreement with its investor and the world’s largest battery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology.
The deal deepens a relationship that began when CATL supplied batteries for Nio‘s first vehicle in 2018 and expanded in March when CATL invested up to 2.5 billion yuan ($303 million) in Nio’s enery unit — known as Nio Power.
Separately, Nio signed a vehicle-chip industrialization partnership with Hefei-headquartered Lontium Semiconductor Corp., sending Lontium shares to an eight-month high.
JAC History
The agreement marks a new chapter in Nio‘s relationship with JAC, the state-owned automaker that served as Nio‘s contract manufacturer for years.
The EV maker initially lacked its own vehicle manufacturing qualification and produced vehicles under JAC’s name through a joint venture established in March 2021.
In late 2023, Nio acquired selected fixed assets and equipment from the two JAC plants for 3.16 billion yuan ($441 million) after obtaining independent manufacturing qualification.
In mid-2025, Nio dissolved the joint venture as the EV maker shifted toward fully independent production.
Chery Battery Swap Partnership
Nio and Chery announced a battery swap partnership as part of Nio’s battery swap alliance. A year ago, several local media reported that Chery’s sub-brand Exeed was set to launch battery swap-enabled models in the third quarter of 2025.
As of Tuesday, no Exeed models featuring Nio‘s battery swap technology have been released.
Nio is soon unveiling its latest generation of stations, which are expected to be capable of serving external brands.
The company said on Tuesday that it is targeting more than 10,000 charging and battery swap stations by 2030.
Delivery Records
Nio delivered 48,135 vehicles globally in December — a new monthly record representing a 54.6% year-over-year increase.
China Passenger Car Association said earlier this week that Nio and JAC were among manufacturers including Tesla, and Seres that achieved their highest-ever monthly new energy wholesale sales in December.
Chery’s 2026 Targets
Chery Group announced Tuesday a 2026 sales target of 3.2 million vehicles, up 14% from 2025. Chery Automobile, together with its five brands, is targeting 3 million vehicles.
Chery Automobile’s cumulative sales in 2025 reached 2.63 million vehicles, up 8% from 2.44 million units in 2024.
Chery brand sold 1.7 million vehicles (+6% YoY), Jaecoo registered 622,590 (+10%), and Exeed 120,369 (-15%).
The iCAR brand sold 96,989 (+47%), and Luxeed recorded 90,493 (+56%).
Sales of Chinese new energy vehicles increased 4% year-over-year in December, according to CPCA data.
A total of 1.57 million NEVs were sold last month in the world’s largest NEV market, marking the sixth time China’s monthly wholesale sales surpassed one million units.
