Photo Courtesy: Nio

Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc (NIO) has agreed to partner with German retail giant Metro AG (MTTWF) to construct electric vehicle charging stations and battery swap stations, cnEVpost reported Monday.

What Happened: Nio signed a long-term strategic partnership deal with the China arm of Metro, as per the report. The two companies will deepen cooperation in charging and battery swap infrastructure construction. Under the deal, Nio will build charging stations and battery swap stations in some malls of Metro China.

Metro AG entered the Chinese market in 1996, according to the company’s China website. To date, the company has opened 97 shopping malls in China, employing more than 11,000 people and serving 17 million customers.

In February, Nio signed a similar deal with Red Star Macalline Group to jointly build 60 charging stations and battery swap stations, according to the report. Red Star Macalline Group is a furniture retail giant and real estate conglomerate.

Why It Matters: Nio is relying on service offerings to make an impact on customers in China. Battery-swapping provides the advantage of saving on time as opposed to charging, and Nio is one of the proponents of this concept. In comparison, Nio rival Tesla Inc. (TSLA) is a big fan of battery charging rather than swapping.

Nio unveiled its next-gen power swapping stations at the Nio Day in January this year. The power swapping station can accommodate 13 batteries and has a daily capacity of up to 312 swaps.

In addition to Nio and Tesla, homebred Chinese companies such as Xpeng Inc. (XPEV) and Li Auto Inc. (LI) are also vying for a piece of the lucrative Chinese EV market, which is the world’s largest.

Price Action: Nio shares closed 1.7% lower on Monday at $35.51 and further declined 0.5% in the after-hours session.