Nio to add 1.000 battery-swap stations in 2026 expansion

China’s Nio plans to add 1,00 new battery-swapping stations this year, expanding its network to support its EV technology investment of over US$2.6 billion.

The company currently operates 3.729 stations, allowing compatible Nio EV owners to exchange batteries in about three minutes.

Nio’s CEO, William Li, highlighted that the 100 million swaps performed so far indicate broad acceptance of battery swapping as a charging option in China.

Nio is the only mainland automaker producing swap-ready EVs and has partnered with firms like Geely and FAW.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The economics behind Nio’s battery swap expansion are more complex than they appear

Nio is growing its network, yet profits stay hard to reach because a battery swapping station needs about 60 swaps a day to break even 1.
The network averages about 35 daily swaps. CEO William Li said about 20% of Nio’s roughly 2,500 swap stations hit breakeven by August 2024 1.
Partnerships with Geely and FAW have not moved battery swapping beyond Nio at scale. 36Kr (a China-focused business and tech news outlet) said no mass-produced swap-enabled models from alliance partners had launched by August 2025 2.
Highway driving leans heavily on swapping. Automotive World reports 83% of the energy going into Nio’s EVs comes from battery swaps 3.

Nio’s partnerships are sparking a wider industry battle over energy control

Geely and FAW have resisted adopting Nio’s swapping system due to high retrofit costs and worries about giving up control of driver, vehicle, and battery data, per 36Kr 2.
That hesitation gives room to CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited). It plans to invest up to RMB 2.5 billion in NIO Power while building its own standardized Choco-SEB swap network, aiming for 10,000 stations in three years 4.
With partner rollout moving slowly, Nio is positioning some swap stations as grid-interactive energy assets that can charge or discharge batteries to support the power grid. 36Kr ties the shift to added revenue opportunities 2.