Nio has introduced the third generation of its battery-swapping stations in China and it is even more impressive than the outgoing stations.
These new stations have a system that automatically navigates the car into the correct position and are able to change a battery in just 3 minutes and do 408 battery swaps a day. That’s 30% more than the old stations and Nio says it will install 1,000 of the new stations throughout China this year. Of these, 400 will be built alongside highway toll roads while the remaining 600 will be introduced in urban areas. Nio currently operates 1,300 swap stations.
Not all Nio owners in China can use the battery swap stations as it is only offered to those who purchase an EV with the battery-as-a-service option. This reduces the upfront cost of the car to not include the battery and instead, owners are charged a monthly fee for the battery and the battery swapping.
Read: Nio Is Adding 1,000 New Battery Swap Stations In China This Year
South China Morning Post notes that the new battery swap station will also support Nio’s forthcoming entry-level brands. The brands, currently codenamed as Alps and Firefly, will be aimed at middle-income earners and their cars will be manufactured at a defunct facility that Nio purchased from SUV maker Leopard.
“We hope to largely expand our service and network and bring better user experience to car owners,” vice president of Nio Power, Shen Fei said. “Nio, as a pioneer of the battery-swap model, welcomes other carmakers to share the technology and network.”
Nio doesn’t just plan to introduce more battery swap stations in China. It expects the number of stations it operates around the world to exceed 4,000 by 2025, noting that approximately 1,000 of these will be located outside China.
A senior executive from vehicle battery supplier Suzhou Hazardtex, Davis Zhang, says batter swapping is an effective way to ease range anxiety.
“The battery-swap model has not been widely used either in China or other major automotive markets, as the technology requires massive investment and concerted effort by carmakers and battery producers to promote its use,” he said. “Technically, it does effectively help ease drivers’ range anxiety, and is a good battery strategy for electric cars.”
