JAKARTA - The idea of replacing batteries for electric vehicles is actually not new. In 2013, Tesla had a system that was able to replace the Model S battery in about 90 seconds, but the concept was eventually not continued to the commercial stage.
At a time when Tesla chose to withdraw, Nio saw an opportunity. The Chinese electric car startup decided to seriously develop battery swapping technology and build a network that is now the largest in the world.
How massive is the utilization? On February 21, Nio car owners recorded 175,976 battery swaps in just one day across China. If averaged, it means that there is a Nio vehicle that replaces the battery every half second.
Reported by Carscoops, Tuesday, February 24, the achievement occurred on the second day of the Chinese New Year celebration, a period known as one of the annual peaks of mobility in China. This surge in travel also contributed to the high use of battery exchange services.
Currently, Nio operates more than 8,600 charging and battery exchange stations spread across more than 550 cities in China. Its network also includes highway routes connecting 16 major city centers.
Abroad, the company is beginning to expand into Europe by launching charging stations in several countries. For technology, Nio is already relying on a fourth-generation battery exchange station introduced in mid-2024.
If the first generation is only able to store four to five batteries, the latest version can accommodate up to 23 battery packs and serve a maximum of 480 exchanges per day. The process takes about 2 minutes 24 seconds, even faster than filling conventional car fuel.
In the future, this facility will not be exclusive to Nio users. The company has partnered with a number of major manufacturers such as Geely, Chery, FAW, GAC, and Changan to share battery swapping technology.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
