Chinese EV startup Nio to build 1,000 battery-swap stations in China in 2023

Nio Inc, a Chinese electric vehicle (EV) startup, wants to establish 1,000 battery-swapping stations in China in 2023, bringing the total number of such facilities to 2,300 by the end of the year, according to its Founder and Chairman William Li on Tuesday.

According to Li, Nio will establish 400 battery-swapping stations along roads and 600 in urban areas, with an emphasis on the country's third and fourth-tier cities and counties.

The move expands on its December intention to build 400 such stations this year. After visiting northeastern China and lower-tier cities in Zhejiang, Li discovered that more of them are required to improve user experience.

Rather than putting the car into a charging station, battery switching allows drivers to easily exchange depleted packs with fully charged ones. Switching could help alleviate the demands exerted on power networks as millions of vehicles charge up, but experts warn that it will only take off in a large way if batteries become industry-wide standard.

Nio is among the few EV makers that are betting on battery swapping as one of the major power solutions for electric cars. Rival Tesla Inc had previously dismissed battery swapping as "riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use".

Nio, the Chinese electric car maker, whilst relatively unknown in the western world, is quickly gaining ground on Tesla as one of the leading builders of electric vehicles.

Nio cars launched, and are still primarily, in the Chinese EV market, although Nio has now entered the EV market in Norway.

So Nio is not in the UK yet, but the way they are going it may not be too far before you can buy a Nio. We thought you might like to get to know them a bit better first.