Chinese automaker Nio is taking a multi-pronged approach to electric mobility with a range of electric vehicles (EVs), plug-in charging networks, and battery swap stations. While both its charging and swapping locations are growing across China, Europe and the Middle East, swapping accounts for 60% of its vehicles’ global energy consumption. Looking exclusively at highway use, 83% of the energy going into Nio’s EVs comes from swapping.
Today, Nio operates more than 3,200 power swap stations (PSS): 3,172 in China, 59 in Europe, and one in Abu Dhabi. As EVs move beyond the early adopter demographic, swapping could play an increasingly important role and end up reshaping EV battery requirements along the way.
Battery-as-a-Service
Nio owners have the choice to buy their car’s battery outright at the time of purchase or lease it. In Europe, the latter opens up a host of additional options, most importantly access to swapping. In China, users have access to swapping even if they have bought the battery. “Our cars are chargeable, swappable, and upgradeable, so users can decide which is the most convenient for them,” says Nio’s Kajsa Ivansson Sognefur, Head of Power Europe.
In China, where many EV owners live in apartment blocks and don’t have access to home charging, convenience often means swapping. Nio’s latest generation PSS can replace a used battery with a fresh one in just three minutes. “This is a fully automated process, so it’s even more convenient than conventional refuelling,” Sognefur tells Automotive World. “It requires minimal effort from the driver.” Nio’s stations perform a battery health check, drawing on various sensors and AI-powered cameras, before slow charging the batteries. All of these steps are designed to optimise the battery lifetime.
During any visit to a PSS, a driver may opt to upgrade the capacity of their battery, choosing between the standard 75kWh battery or a 100kWh option in Europe, with a further option of upgrading to 150kWh in China only. This is particularly popular ahead of holiday periods, when many owners are heading off on road trips. The upgrade service has been offered in China since 2021 but only came to Europe in December 2024. Here, a similar pattern is playing out.
“We’re seeing the same consumer swapping trends in Europe as in China,” notes Sognefur. “For instance, there was a lot of activity ahead of the Christmas holidays as drivers headed off on family get togethers or ski trips.” In Europe, upgrades can be activated for one month with the option to extend. The offer in China is more flexible, with daily upgrades the most popular and dominant preference for users there. Switching to a smaller battery is possible as an ad hoc service.
Notably, the use of flexible upgrades has prompted greater interest in smaller batteries for day-to-day use, as drivers realise they require less range outside of road trips. “Some years ago, before we had flexible upgrade and the extensive PSS network, half of our users in China would select the smaller battery when they bought their car, and half would select the bigger option,” says Sognefur. “Now, with the extensive network and the ability to do flexible upgrades, 95% of our users chose the smaller battery when they purchase the car because it’s cheaper. They generally only upgrade when they go on holiday.”
For the wider EV industry, a move towards smaller batteries as standard could improve sustainability across many fronts, reducing the vehicle’s lifetime energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It also reduces materials demand; a report commissioned by Climate and Community Project found that limiting the size of EV batteries could reduce lithium demand by 42%.
A pivotal moment
The idea of battery swapping has been around for many years, with many failed endeavours. Today China is the only country with an extensive swapping network in place. Part of the problem has been a lack of standards, as the EV, the battery, and the swap stations all need to be aligned. Working with a number of other brands on this front, Nio now has agreements with Changan, Geely, Chery, JAC, GAC, FAW, and Lotus.
In March 2025, it outlined a partnership with Chinese EV battery supplier CATL to establish the largest and most advanced swapping network in the world. Speaking at the time of the announcement, Nio Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive William Li described the collaboration as one that “marks a pivotal moment, propelling battery swapping into a brand-new phase.”
CATL is also investing CN¥2.5bn (US$346m) in Nio Power, the automaker’s energy management division that oversees both swapping and the plug-in charging networks. Nio will introduce CATL’s Choco-Swap technical standards and network for its upcoming models under the Firefly brand. The networks of both parties will operate in parallel, with the promise of a more seamless and efficient swapping experience for drivers. According to the partners, the arrangement should produce a synergy effect in which “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The partnership with CATL is focussed exclusively on China, which continues to lead the global charging push. Europe is progressing, but slower than expected. Nio had originally targeted 1,000 PSS in Europe by 2025. The current total of 59 is woefully short of that. “We are still opening stations, but not at the pace to reach 1,000 stations this year. We have completed more than 140,000 swaps in Europe, so we are achieving solid milestones,” notes Sognefur.
A range of solutions
While Nio is directing considerable attention and resources into battery swap, it remains equally committing to plug-in charging, and Sognefur refuses to put her bets on one technology dominating in the future. “To ensure users can choose whatever kind of energy provider they would like, we will keep investing in both over the long term.”
There is plenty of scope for innovation within plug-in charging, and Nio is currently exploring bidirectional charging in its home market of China. A recent report by EY and Eurelectric found that smart charging and vehicle-to-grid technologies “are critical for cost savings, grid stability and renewables integration.” It’s very early days for Nio on this front, with Sognefur describing bidirectional efforts as “experience and data gathering” at the moment.
Whether it involves plugging in or swapping out, automakers like Nio are actively investing in the energy ecosystem underpinning EVs. As Sognefur points out, the two are very much connected. “OEMs have to consider the impact of their models on the energy network,” she concludes. “How we support the ecosystem is super important. Instead of posing a problem for the grid, we can be a part of the solution, and I think there are many different solutions available to support the transition into green mobility.”
