NIO has just announced a new milestone: its battery-swap services have exceeded 90,000,000 cumulative operations. Announced on X by NIO CEO William Li, this milestone was reached on 26 October 2025.
What is a battery exchange?
Battery swap involves replacing the discharged battery of an electric vehicle with a battery that has already been charged at a dedicated station, rather than waiting for the battery to recharge at a charging point. The aim is to avoid EV (electric vehicle) drivers having to wait for their battery to recharge at « conventional » charging points. Battery Swap Stations are designed for the automatic removal and installation of EV batteries. The operation is almost entirely automated. Some users report that, from arrival at the station to departure, the whole process takes less than 10 minutes. This includes checking and invoicing.
Why is this a major milestone?
The figure of 90 million battery exchanges shows that this is an effective service on a large scale. It is convincing electric vehicle drivers. To understand the dynamics of the NIO project, it is interesting to refer to William Li’s post on X. Between the 80 millionth exchange and the 90 millionth exchange, only 100 days elapsed. If we compare this to the first 10 million, achieved in over four years, the growth is impressive. According to the Chinese manufacturer, the battery exchange service now carries out an average of 100,000 exchanges a day worldwide.
An infrastructure in search of expansion
Just over a year ago, in June 2024, there were 2,432 stations. This number has now risen to more than 3,445 stations. China’s electric car ambitions can also be measured with NIO: there are more than 1,000 battery exchange stations along the country’s motorways. For once, the number one objective is to export and dominate world markets, including Europe. To achieve this, the company has set up a number of exchange stations on the Old Continent.
NIO, a complete company
NIO is a Chinese company, founded in 2014 and based in Shanghai. It stands out for its versatility in electric mobility. Its network of battery swap stations (« Power Swap Stations ») makes it one of the global market leaders. Its innovative « Battery-as-a-Service » model also contributes to this position. This strategy has several levers: speed of use, reduced range anxiety and differentiation. NIO offers a complete ecosystem. It includes its top-of-the-range electric vehicles, domestic and public recharging services, as well as software and connected solutions for its users.
An innovative but demanding model
However, this system requires significant investment: construction of automated stations, logistical management of batteries and maintenance. These constraints mean that the model is easier to deploy for a manufacturer with significant financial and operational resources.
To date, the cumulative electricity exchanged via these services amounts to around 4.75 billion kWh, equivalent to the annual consumption of around 2.37 million homes. These figures testify to the scale of the infrastructure, but they must be qualified: this is a network concentrated mainly in China, not a uniform daily performance on a global scale.
90 million batteries exchanged, a figure that shows that NIO does not limit itself to producing top-of-the-range electric vehicles: its « Battery-as-a-Service » model and its network of automated stations enable it to offer a complete ecosystem for its users. With its battery-swap system, NIO is proving that it is possible to drastically reduce recharging time and reassure drivers about range. An approach that could well redefine the driving experience of electric vehicles, especially on long journeys.
