Nio Inc - ADR (NIO) is slowly and steadily forging partnerships with international players, apparently in a bid to gain a toehold into the global market.

What Happened: Chinese startup Nio and multinational oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-B) announced a strategic cooperation agreement for improving EV charging experience around the world.

The two companies said they will intensify efforts in R&D and battery swapping technologies to further improve the technology and business model.

The companies plan to develop a network of co-branded battery swap stations, with two pilot sites to be set up in China to signal the start of the cooperation. The number of sites will increase to 100 by 2025.

Additional co-branded battery swap stations will be set up at Shell EV charging hubs and Shell Recharge fast chargers will be set up at Nio locations.

In Europe, the companies plan to start the exploration of pilot sites in 2022 and then scale rapidly. The companies will collaborate to integrate Shell Recharge Mobility Service Provider, which provides customers access to roaming EV charging networks through Shell Recharge Solutions.

Further collaborations in the areas of fleet solutions, loyalty and home charging are part of the strategic partnership, the companies said.

"Together, we'll be working to improve every aspect of the EV experience. This means we'll offer Shell Recharge high-speed charging at NIO locations and make battery swap available at convenient Shell locations while also offering NIO customers our best home and business charging solutions," said István Kapitány, Global Executive Vice President of Shell Mobility.

Why It's Important: The strategic cooperation assumes significance because Nio began its international foray earlier this year by setting up shop in Norway. The company has set its sights on expanding into additional European countries.

Nio already has a tie-in with BP plc (BP). In May 2018, Nio Capital, the venture capital arm of Nio, and BP executed an agreement to establish a long-term partnership to jointly explore opportunities in advanced mobility in China and internationally.

Photo: Courtesy Nio