Written by Matilde Alves | Edited by Cláudio Afonso
Nio founder and CEO William Li said on Weibo last Sunday that 2025 will be a major year for the expansion of the company’s battery swap network. Over the last two years, the Shanghai-based EV maker has signed several partnerships with other Chinese carmakers allowing them to develop electric models that can use its battery swap stations.
In mid December, China’s battery giant CATL announced its battery swapping ecosystem, the ‘Choco-Swap’ stations, introducing two standardized battery models, named “#20” and “#25,” developed in collaboration with nearly 100 partners.
Commenting on the major investment announced by the world’s largest EV battery maker, Nio’s chief executive said that “the fact that CATL is firmly investing in this sector is a positive sign”, emphasizing the “close partnership” between both companies.
Li added that “many companies are entering the space”, remembering the “strategic cooperation agreements” Nio already signed with Chery, Geely Holding Group, Changan Automobile, FAW Group, Nio’s former manufacturing partner JAC, Lotus, and GAC Group.
CATL Enters the Battery Swap Market
Robin Zeng, founder and CEO of CATL, said the company aims to build 1,000 stations and expand the network to Hong Kong and Macau later this year.
The mid-term target is to reach 10,000 stations and, “as the battery swap ecosystem expands”, achieve 30,000. Zeng predicts that, by 2030, “battery swapping, home charging piles, and public charging piles will each account for a third of the market”.
In December, William Li had previously commented that CATL’s new standardized batteries would play in a different segment than Nio’s recently launched sub-brand Firefly. Li had referred to CATL’s batteries as “likely targeting entry-level, relatively lower-priced vehicles”.
Nio’s Battery Swap Network Goals
In 2023, Nio built over 1,000 battery swap stations in China. As of December 31, the EV maker counted 2,995 stations (just short of the 3,000 mark) where customers can swap the car’s battery in about three minutes.
As of Monday, Nio has provided over 65.6 million battery swaps in China. Since opening the first station in 2018, the company has built 3,110 battery swap stations nationwide, with a vast majority of them being opened over the last 24 months.
Commenting on the breakeven, Nio’s chief said over the weekend that “battery swapping is gaining momentum” adding that the “stations in Shanghai are already close to profitability.”
Nio’s CEO also revealed during the livestream that the Jiangsu province has already achieved full county-level battery swap network coverage ahead of schedule, while Zhejiang is nearing completion.
By the first half of 2025, Nio aims to complete county-level coverage across 14 provinces. The company also previously stated that its “electric zone housing” coverage has surpassed 81%, meaning that over 80% of Nio users have at least one battery swap station within three kilometers of their residence or workplace.
The company aims to increase the number of battery swap stations in China from 3,000 to 5,000 as the first battery swap partners prepare to release their first battery swap vehicles.
In Europe, Nio currently has 59 battery swap stations across six countries with most of them located in Germany and Norway.
Nio’s Battery Swap Partnership with Chery and GAC
Earlier this year, the Chinese carmaker Chery Auto confirmed that its first battery swap-compatible models (a sedan and a SUV) will be launched between July and September.
The models, which belong to its Exeed brand, will be the first outside of Nio’s lineup to gain access to the company’s battery swap network.
Later in January, GAC Group told EV that it is developing the first battery swap-compatible GAC model which is now waiting for internal approval. The Chinese carmaker joined Nio’s battery swap alliance in May 2024.
Earlier today, Macquarie analyst Eugene Hsiao reduced the firm’s price target on Nio’s Hong Kong-listed shares from HK$38.00 to HK$34.00 while maintaining a Neutral rating.
Nio’s shares closed 0.3% higher at HK$34.05 on Monday, leaving Macquarie’s new price target in line with the stock’s current level.
Nio’s U.S. listed shares are trading 1.7% higher on early Monday at $4.31. Over the last twelve months, the stock lost about 30% of its value.
In 2025, the Shanghai-based group aims to double sales to about 440,000 units. After delivering 13,683 EVs in January, Nio needs to deliver 426,300 vehicles across its three brands over the next eleven months, an average of about 38,750 units.
Written by Matilde Alves | Edited by Cláudio Afonso