NIO eclipses 50 million battery swaps, providing evidence that drivers prefer the charge method

NIO’s industry-leading battery swap technology is continuing to gain prowess as the Chinese EV company hits another milestone. Yesterday evening, NIO hit 50 million cumulative battery swaps, providing evidence that the EV charging method is not only viable but also preferred by many drivers.

NIO ($NIO) continues to show the world EV why it is one of the leading EV technology brands in China. In addition to delivering a lineup of some of the more impressive electric vehicles on the planet, the company has developed and launched multiple adjacent technologies in the market including mobile phones and battery swaps.

Since EVs began rising to prominence, the idea of quickly swapping out packs rather than leaving a car at a charger has been an option. Several OEMs like Tesla explored the technology early on before abandoning it, while other startups like Ample, for example, have geared it toward more granular segments like rideshare vehicles and urban EVs.

NIO, however, has fully embraced battery swaps since its inception and has quickly become the global leader in the space. It is also gaining momentum.

It took NIO four years to reach its first 10 million swaps and a mere nine months to double that figure. By October 2023, the automaker eclipsed the 30 million swap milestone in an impressive six months.

Now, less than ten months later, NIO is celebrating 50 million battery swaps to date and counting.

NIO says a majority of EV drivers prefer battery swaps

Per a recent Weibo post, NIO achieved its latest tally of battery swaps at 11:33 PM on August 5. The automaker shared that its battery swap system has now delivered its EV drivers with a cumulative total of 2.62 billion kWh of electricity – that’s enough energy to power more than 1.31 million homes for an entire year.

Additionally, NIO shared that its battery swaps have saved EV drivers over 2.85 billion minutes compared to sitting and waiting at public chargers, which remains the industry’s preferred method at this point.

Plug charging doesn’t seem to be the preferred method for most NIO drivers in China, however. NIO says that close to 60% of the energy sent to NIO-branded vehicles is coming from battery swaps.

To date, NIO says its swap technology has saved EV drivers a total of RMB 20.3 billion ($2.85 billion) compared to similar gasoline models – an average of RMB 36,000 ($5,050) per NIO owner.

NIO’s current network in China includes 2,464 swap stations that complete an average of 79,000 swaps per day. At the current rate, NIO says an EV driver is delivered a fully charged battery pack every 1.1 seconds in China.

As of mid-July 2024, NIO had 50 battery swap stations in operation throughout Europe, including Norway and Germany. If you prefer charging plugs, the Chinese automaker still sells EVs with that as an option, but battery swaps appear to be growing in popularity in China, perhaps offering a glimpse into a future where the EV charge method is more common across the global market.