(Yicai Global) March 21 -- Chinese battery charging and swapping equipment maker Harmontronics Automation Technology plans to link arms with a unit of auto manufacturer Dongfeng Motor to build heavy truck battery swap stations in a new town near Beijing.

Harmontronics and Yuexiang Xiongan Technology will construct battery swap stations for heavy-duty trucks in Xiongan New Area, which is located 120 kilometers from the capital Beijing, the Suzhou, eastern Jiangsu province-based company said yesterday.

Harmontronics will provide the battery swapping equipment and solutions, including the engineering, operation and maintenance services for the stations, as well as technical support in order for the project to be completed as efficiently and quickly as possible, it said, citing the agreement penned by the two parties.

Dongfeng Motor’s self-driving tech unit Dongfeng Yuexiang Technology holds a 41 percent stake in Yuexiang Xiongan and is its largest shareholder. The Wuhan, central Hubei province-based company operates one of the country’s biggest truck manufacturers Dongfeng Trucks.

Trucking routes tend to be fixed, which reduces the cost of building battery swap stations along these routes and lowers the technological requirements, especially for short distances.

The Xiongan New Area was designated by the central government in 2017 as a new area for large-scale development and construction in order to relieve Beijing of functions that are not essential to its role as the nation’s capital.

Harmontronics’ stock price [SHA:688022] closed up 2.9 percent at CNY62.28 (USD9) today.

Editor: Kim Taylor