U Power's Unit Forms JV With Portugal's National Taxi Association For Battery Swapping Solutions

(RTTNews) - U Power Limited (UCAR), an EV battery power solution provider in China, announced Monday that its unit Energy U Ltd. has signed a joint venture agreement with Portugal's national taxi association to deploy battery swapping solutions.

The newly formed venture with Associação Nacional dos Transportes Rodoviários em Automóveis Ligeiros or ANTRAL will focus on accelerating Portugal's transition to electric mobility by developing an integrated EV ecosystem that combines vehicles and battery-swapping infrastructure.

The company noted that the pilot testing of U Power's battery-swapping technology in Portugal has been successful, and initial operations are commencing with 40 vehicles per battery-swapping station.

Full integration of the battery-swapping stations and vehicle deployment is scheduled to begin next year.

With the JV with the association, which represents public passenger road transport companies operating light vehicles, marks the company's strategic advancement in the European market.

The initiative aims to address critical challenges faced by Portugal's taxi operators in their transition to electric vehicles. These included limited charging infrastructure and concerns about battery lifecycle management.

U Power noted that the UOTTA battery swapping solution effectively resolves these operational barriers while supporting Portugal's decarbonization goals in the transportation sector.

Jia Li, Chairman and CEO of U Power, said, "Building upon our previous collaboration agreement and comprehensive market research, ANTRAL has expressed strong confidence in our taxi fleet battery-swapping solution. We are moving forward with plans for nationwide deployment of battery-swapping taxi services across Portugal in 2025. This partnership establishes a solid foundation for U Power's growth..."