Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has set new records for its battery swapping network, completing nearly 1.2 million swaps in just seven days as millions of drivers travelled across China for the National Day holiday.
Between October 1 and 7, Nio’s 4,168 battery swap stations handled 1,192,221 swaps, an average of more than 170,000 per day. That represents a 22% increase in daily activity compared to the same holiday period last year.
The company also broke its single-day record twice during the week. The first came on October 1 with 183,469 swaps, before that figure climbed to 183,664 on October 5 as travellers headed home.
At that pace, Nio was completing a battery swap somewhere in its network every 0.47 seconds.
Unlike conventional EV charging, which requires drivers to wait while their battery recharges, Nio’s system automatically removes the depleted battery and installs a charged replacement in just a few minutes.
The technology was particularly popular along China’s highways. Highway locations did much of the heavy lifting. Nio has 1,073 of them along routes serving upwards of 550 cities, and 250 posted single-day highs over the holiday.
According to Nio, more than 203,000 drivers completed their holiday road trips using battery swapping exclusively, while nearly 198,000 travelled more than 1,000 kilometres.
The company’s charging infrastructure was also busy. Combined charging and swapping services across its Nio, Onvo, and Firefly brands reached 2.07 million transactions at 9,567 sites, a total that includes charging stations as well as the swap network.
Nio has continued expanding the network, recently completing a 3,605-kilometre battery swapping route between Xi’an and Horgos, featuring 33 stations.
While most EV manufacturers continue investing in faster DC charging, Nio is taking a different approach. Its latest figures show how extensively battery swapping is being used in China, particularly during periods of heavy holiday travel.
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