NIO LeDao President: Battery Swap Stations Cost Less Per Charge Than Regular Chargers

At the High-Level Forum on Intelligent Electric Vehicle Development, Shen Fei, President of Onvo (NIO's new brand), stated that the initial investment for a battery swap station is approximately two to three times that of a conventional charging station, but its per-kilowatt-hour usage cost is lower when amortized over time. He believes the battery swapping model offers strong investment value. As of February 6 this year, NIO has completed a cumulative total of 100 million battery swaps. The company plans to add 1,000 new swap stations by 2026 and expand its "Power Highway Scenic Routes" to 100 corridors. Following the G318 Sichuan-Tibet route and Yunnan-Tibet route, NIO will advance construction of a Silk Road battery swap corridor this year. The timeline for NIO’s fifth-generation swap stations has been confirmed: internal testing stations will be activated by the end of March; 5 to 10 user-facing pioneer stations will go live between May and June; and large-scale deployment will begin in July–August. As of now, NIO has achieved 8.5% of its annual target of 1,000 new stations. Currently, NIO’s energy infrastructure comprises 3,791 swap stations (including 1,027 on expressways) and 4,969 charging stations. Additionally, it has integrated 1,578,730 third-party charging points, bringing the total number of charging and swapping facilities to 8,760.