NIO has long been known for its battery swap technology. Now vehicle owners can easily upgrade to a larger battery capacity when swapping batteries.
Previously, the company only allowed NIO owners to upgrade their battery packs on a monthly or yearly basis.
NIO will start a pilot project that will allow owners to upgrade or downgrade electric vehicle battery packs on a daily basis. Guangdong, Shandong, Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Huzhou were selected as pilot cities.
NIO allows owners to change to a different capacity plan every day. Not only increasing, owners are also possible to decrease their battery capacity.
NIO said the service will be offered nationwide in China from late December. At the current NIO battery swap station there are three sizes of battery packs provided, namely 70 kWh, 75 kWh, and 100 kWh.
NIO’s new pilot program is available to all vehicle owners, whether they purchase the included battery pack or those who purchase a vehicle under the BaaS (battery as a service) program.
This flexibility means owners don’t have to use a remote plan for at least a month, as was the case before. NIO electric vehicle owners can use it whenever they need it.
Owners who choose a remote battery pack at the time of purchase, they have the opportunity to downgrade to the standard remote plan and receive some compensation if they find the 100-kWh capacity a bit wasteful for their usage scenario.
NIO allows owners to pay after use and allows them to return different packages at each battery exchange station in China.
