At the Power Up 2024 event in Wuhan held yesterday, Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Nio (NIO) disclosed its plans to expand its charging infrastructure across China. The company plans to install battery charging stations in all of China’s 2,844 counties by the end of June 2025. Also, it aims to expand battery swap stations to over 2,300 counties by the end of 2025.
To support this expansion, Nio will build a new battery swap station manufacturing center in Wuhan, targeting an annual production capacity of over 1,000 units. The company also plans to collaborate with other firms to co-develop and share profits from charging and swapping stations.
Reasons Behind Expansion
Nio’s expansion efforts are driven by the fact that only one-third of Chinese EV owners have home charging facilities. So, as China’s EV market expands, Nio’s infrastructure investments are expected to create new opportunities. By broadening its charging and swapping network across mainland China, the company aims to diversify its revenue beyond vehicle sales.
Additionally, this move will help Nio address intense competition from other Chinese EV makers like Li Auto (LI) and XPeng (XPEV), which offer advanced features like autonomous driving systems and high-performance batteries.
Is NIO a Buy or Sell?
Wall Street analysts are cautiously optimistic about Nio stock. It has received five Buy, four Hold, and one Sell recommendations for a Moderate Buy consensus rating. The analysts’ average price target on NIO stock of $6.52 implies 69.35% upside potential. Shares of the company have declined 26.7% in the past three months.
