Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) startup Nio Inc has announced it is stepping up the expansion of its battery-swapping network in China, with an additional 900 automated stations to be built this year.
The move comes as more BEVs are coming onto the market featuring new-generation permanent batteries that offer extended ranges and shorter charging times, potentially reducing the need for swapping stations in the long-term.
Nio has battery-swapping partnerships with a number of automakers in China, including with Changan Auto and Geely Auto. Earlier this year the company said it aimed to have more than 3,300 battery-swapping stations in operation by the end of the year.
Nio said its new automated facilities allow BEV drivers to swap spent batteries for fully-charged ones in just a few minutes, compared with 20 minutes previously.
The company’s CEO William Lee pointed out that only one-third of Chinese BEV owners currently have charging facilities at their homes, adding “charging facilities and technologies still need to be improved to further ease range anxiety.”
Nio said it plans to build a new facility to produce battery-swapping stations in the Wuhan Optical Valley Digital Economy Industrial Park in Wuhan province, with a capacity to make more than 1,000 per year.
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