Nio Power, the energy arm of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio, is facing a sharp slowdown in its European expansion plans, EV has learned, as recent investment cuts weigh on the rollout of its battery swap and infrastructure network.
The EV maker, which launched in Europe in 2021 and opened the first station in January 2022 with high ambitions to replicate its China success, currently operates just 59 battery swap stations across five European countries, according to Nio’s official map as of Monday.
Most of the sites are located in Norway (20) and Germany (19), with only 26 stations also offering charging facilities alongside battery swaps. Denmark, the brand’s smallest market, has one station.
The company opened its 50th European battery swap station in July 2024, meaning it added only nine new stations over the past nine months—a stark contrast to the accelerated pace seen during 2023.
The Shanghai-based Group reached 30 stations across Europe in November 2023 and added 20 more stations in just eight months, bringing the total to 50.
According to a person familiar with the matter, Nio’s Power team in Europe has been significantly downsized again this year, leaving only five active employees. Two of them are currently on long-term sick leave and therefore protected from dismissal, the person said.
Only three new battery swap station projects are still progressing, and only because they are tied to binding contractual obligations, the person said.
Nio expanded to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark in October 2022. Although the expansion in Europe is paused since then, the Group will arrive in Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Austria, the UK, and several other European markets later this year.
However, it will count on a local partner in each market allowing a faster expansion with much lower investment when compared to the first five European markets where the EV maker established local teams and flagship showrooms.
In March, the premium brand sold 86 vehicles across the five European markets: 44 units in Norway, 21 in Germany, 13 in the Netherlands, eight in Sweden and none in Denmark.
Junrong Ye, who serves as ‘Power Europe Expansion Sr Manager,’ announced on Saturday on LinkedIn that a new battery swap station will open in Germany. Although the location was not revealed, the station will be in Sankt Augustin, a city located about 30 minutes away from Cologne.
Despite the recent cuts, Junrong added later in the post, “Let’s keep the momentum going. We’re building more than stations—we’re building the future.”
In total, Nio’s upcoming 5th generation stations will need to store batteries of 42.1 kWh for Firefly’s compact EV, 60 kWh and 85 kWh for Onvo vehicles and 75, 100, 120 and 150 kWh batteries for the main Nio brand vehicles.
However, the Firefly batteries are incompatible with any of the 59 stations being deployed in Europe. The brand opened last week Firefly is now accepting orders in the first European market and will start test drives in the Netherlands and Norway “this summer”.
Moreover, of the 170 site contracts signed by Nio across the old continent, most are now described by the same source as “barely usable,” as Firefly would require a different battery swap network focused on urban locations rather than the highway-focused stations designed for long-distance travelers.
In China, the company is working with local partners to lower the investment needed for the network but also increase the deployment pace.
According to a recent statement from the company’s head of energy industry partnerships, Yu Xiwei, Nio has finalized similar partnerships in 15 provinces, and the number is growing.
This year, William Li has stated that the company aims to build between 1,800 and 2,000 new stations in China — a slight reduction from the previous target of deploying 2,000 stations.
In early April, Reuters reported that battery giant CATL was in talks to acquire a controlling stake in the Nio Power unit. The report came a few days after Nio Power chief, Fei Shen, left the role to become the lead of Nio’s first sub-brand, Onvo.
Nio CEO William Li subsequently told owners in a private group chat, according to Chinese outlet Jiemian News, “Don’t believe or spread rumors” in response to the report.
Still, Nio and CATL have deepened their collaboration, agreeing to jointly develop a “battery swapping network for passenger vehicles.” Firefly upcoming models will adopt CATL’s battery swap standards, however, the inaugural one will still integrate Nio’s upcoming generation of battery swap stations.
Fei Shen, former head of Nio Power and now leading Nio’s new sub-brand Onvo, said last week the company is working to make its battery swap stations more flexible and customizable, with plans to build larger “hubs” to handle higher demand in major cities.
As reported by EV on January 2, Nio has filed a patent for a new expandable battery swap station system in the final days of 2024. This new type of station is a modular extension unit that can be attached to existing battery swap stations, increasing the number of batteries available.
