Image: NIO
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) automaker NIO announced plans to build as many as 1,000 battery swap stations across China in 2023, according to statements from Founder William Li on Tuesday (via Reuters).
NIO plans to build 600 of the battery swap stations in urban areas, especially in the country’s third- and fourth-tier regions, while the other 400 are set to be built along highways, according to a post on the automaker’s own social media platform.
In December, NIO said it plans to add just 400 swap stations this year, so the news appears to be an expansion of that plan. During the same month, the automaker reached its 300,000th production car.
Li also said that, after trips around China’s northeastern parts and lower-tier cities in Zhejiang, many of the current battery swap stations need user experience improvements.
NIO’s second-gen battery swap stations include 14 battery slots, allowing for up to 312 swaps per day, according to the company.
The news comes about a month after Tesla dropped the prices of many its vehicles, forcing other automakers to consider whether to do the same. NIO responded by saying that cutting EV prices wasn’t an “ideal solution,” for automakers like themselves.
In November, NIO built its first battery swap station in Sweden, and the company later announced plans to develop its own phone that was “on par with Apple.” Li expects the phone to launch within a year of the statement.
Tesla Surpasses 760 Superchargers in China with Over 6,000 Stalls https://t.co/4qIUUOdYAy
— TeslaNorth.com (@RealTeslaNorth) March 23, 2021
