Nio powering ahead on electric charging infrastructure, development

Nio is expanding its charging network, encompassing battery swap stations and charging stations, as part of the Chinese electric vehicle startup's efforts to allay consumer concerns over network coverage and battery life.

A pioneer of battery swapping technology, Nio announced during the recent "Nio Power Day" held in Shanghai on July 9 that it has raised its target of building 500 battery swap stations by the end of this year to more than 700 in the same period.

From 2022 to 2025, Nio has committed to installing 600 new battery swap stations in China every year.

By the end of 2025, Nio will have more than 4,000 battery swap stations worldwide, including around 1,000 outside China, according to the company.

Its battery swap stations and superchargers were shipped to Norway earlier this month and are expected to arrive in early August. Nio announced its entry into Norway on May 6 this year, marking the company's first foray into an overseas market.

Nio has so far built 308 battery swap stations and provided more than 2.9 million battery swapping services. Its second-generation swapping station allows drivers to swap their car battery out for a fresh one within three minutes.

The carmaker aims to enable 90 percent of Nio users to reach a swap battery station within 3 kilometers by 2025. Currently, 29 percent of Nio drivers have a swap station within 3 km, according to the company.

In addition to swapping stations, Nio provides charging stations, piles and mobile chargers. A mobile charger is a portable power bank that can be booked using the Nio app.

To date, the carmaker has installed 210 supercharging stations and 387 destination charging stations in China, and provided 600,000 mobile charging services.

In the past three years, Nio has launched four types of charging piles with an increasing capacity.

The company is working on more than three kinds of more advanced charging piles now, which are expected to provide better services for users.

The automaker's current models all have the option of a battery-as-a-service－or BaaS－plan, whereby customers buy the car but lease the battery. In this way, buyers can keep up-to-date with battery technology as it improves.

With all these facilities, the company has provided an internet-based power solution with an extensive network, which its calls Nio Power.

Enhanced by Power Cloud, Nio Power aims to offer a power service system with chargeable, swappable and upgradable batteries to provide users with all power services scenarios, said Qin Lihong, president and co-founder of Nio.

Furthermore, Nio has announced that it will share its achievements with the automotive industry and smart electric vehicle users. That means its power charging and swapping system, as well as BaaS, will be fully available across the industry.

In just seven years Nio has invested billions of yuan in Nio Power, according to the company.

"We think the cost is like spending on children's education, which is not about loss but an investment," Qin said. "Thanks to Nio Power, we don't need to purchase from suppliers, which may cost more and get services below what we provide today.

"I still think we have the right strategy and will continue to work on this."

The company sold 8,083 vehicles in June, a year-on-year increase of 116 percent for the same period. Cumulative deliveries of Nio's entire product lineup－the ES8, the ES6 and the EC6－have reached 117,597 units since it began selling cars in 2018. The Nio ET7 is expected to be delivered in the first quarter next year.