Nio, which operates the largest battery swap network globally, set a new record on Sunday with 146,649 battery swaps provided to customers in a single day amid peak travel during the Chinese New Year holiday.
The figures surpassed the previous record of 145,395 swaps registered last October, when drivers took to the roads during the country’s weeklong National Day holiday, according to data from third-party tracker NioSwapInfo.
As of Monday, Nio has completed over 101.2 million cumulative battery swaps, according to its website.
The company reached the 100-million milestone on February 6, which it said marked large-scale validation of the battery swap model by users and the market.
“Battery swapping has become a mainstream solution for recharging new energy vehicles in China,” Nio said on Monday.
5th Gen Stations
Nio is preparing to unveil its most advanced battery swap stations ever.
The company said last year it would launch a pilot version of the fifth-generation stations around Christmas, though details of the new system remain unknown.
The EV maker plans to begin building the latest-generation stations starting in March.
Nio‘s existing fourth-generation swap stations, rolled out in 2024, can store up to 23 batteries — up from 21 in the third generation — and complete a swap in under three minutes.
The stations use LiDAR for positioning and can perform as many as 480 swaps per day.
Last year, Nio filed patents for modular stations that can expand capacity in high-density areas and has considered building larger swap hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.
Infrastructure
In early September, founder and CEO William Li said Nio would fall short of its 2025 target for new battery swap stations in China as it reallocates resources toward the next-generation system.
This year, the Shanghai-based brand aims to deploy 1,000 new stations in China.
Nio currently operates 3,750 battery swap stations in China and 61 in Europe, according to its website.
The company also has 28,223 charging piles and allows customer to access over 1.57 million third-party charging points.
Battery Variety
The company’s swap network now supports seven different battery capacities across its three brands, up from two three years ago.
Nio vehicles use 75-, 100-, 120-, and 150-kWh packs, while Onvo models use 65- and 85-kWh batteries. Firefly‘s debut model uses a 42.1-kWh pack.
