(Yicai Global) Nov. 26 -- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing is linking arms with auto repair shop chain owner Zhejiang Jingu to build a larger presence in China’s charging station market for electric vehicles.

The two firms will set up a joint venture to spearhead the project, Zhejiang Jingu said on Nov. 20. Auto after-sales service provider Teweilun Network Technology, a unit of Zhejiang Jingu, will invest CNY50 million (USD7.6 million) for a 83.3 percent stake in the JV and Didi’s new energy vehicle charging platform Orange Energy will pay CNY10 million for the remaining equity.

The JV will build a raft of new charging stations and optimize the charging networks in certain cities, Yicai Global learned from Didi Chuxing yesterday. The pairing will match Hangzhou-based Teweilun’s after-sales network of more than 500 brick-and-mortar stores nationwide with Orange Energy’s grid of more than 20,000 charging piles in almost 60 cities across China.

Orange Energy, which is operated by Fuzhou Huiju New Energy Technology, provided over 25 million charging services to 556,000 car owners last year.

Fuyang, Zhejiang province-based Jingu mainly makes steel wheels but branched into the car after-sales service market in 2013. Its shares [SHE:002488] were trading down 0.98 percent at 2.30 p.m. China time at CNY10.14 (USD1.54).

Editor: Kim Taylor