Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has reached a new infrastructure milestone with the launch of its 1,000th battery swap station along the country’s highways, the company said on Wednesday. The latest facility was unveiled at the Fushan service area on the G5011 Wuhu-Hefei Highway.
Nio now operates a total of 3,399 battery swap stations across China, of which nearly 30% are located along major highways. The company said the network now connects 550 cities, creating a nationwide corridor that aims to reduce range anxiety for drivers of both its mainline Nio models and the Onvo sub-brand.
“As of now, we’ve completed the construction of a highway battery swap network covering major cities in China,” Nio said in a statement. “This enables Nio and Onvo users to enjoy seamless long-distance travel.”
In addition to battery swap stations, Nio operates 2,883 supercharging stations with 13,311 chargers, and 1,776 destination charging stations offering 13,390 charging stalls. The company has also expanded abroad, with 60 battery swap stations currently operational in Europe.
Battery swap technology, which allows drivers to replace depleted batteries with fully charged ones in minutes, is particularly useful during high-traffic travel periods. During the Labor Day holiday earlier this year, Nio reported that one of its busiest stations handled 150 swaps in a single day.
Currently, battery swap access is limited to vehicles under the Nio and Onvo brands. Firefly, Nio’s compact EV sub-brand, will join the network after the company rolls out its fifth-generation battery swap stations next year.