Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio expanded its NIO Power network with 28 new stations on September 30, according to Chinese outlet Gasgoo. The batch includes 19 battery swap stations and nine ultra-fast charging stations, pushing the company's cumulative national total to 9,492 charging and swapping facilities.
The new swap stations are numbered 4,137 to 4,155, while the charging stations are numbered 3,459 to 3,467. They cover service areas along several major highways, including the G25 Changchun-Shenzhen, G40 Shanghai-Shaanxi, G5 Beijing-Kunming and G45 Daguang expressways, as well as more than a dozen cities such as Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Zhengzhou, Yinchuan, Quanzhou, Nanping, Zigong, Yibin, Qingdao, Weihai, Qingyuan, Huaihua, Zhuhai and Dali.
As of September 30, Nio had built 4,155 battery swap stations nationwide, including 1,071 on highways, plus 5,337 charging stations with 30,780 charging piles. The company has also established 92 scenic charging routes and connected to more than 1.736 million third-party charging piles. Cumulative battery swap services have exceeded 120 million times.
Network expansion strategy
Nio's approach combines highway corridor coverage with urban density, aiming to ease range anxiety for owners on long trips and in city driving. The company has positioned battery swap as a key differentiator, allowing drivers to exchange depleted packs for charged ones in about three minutes, faster than most conventional charging sessions.
The latest additions reflect Nio's ongoing push to densify its network ahead of the winter driving season, when battery performance typically declines. The company has stated it plans to continue adding stations across China, with a focus on both high-traffic expressways and underserved urban areas.
Nio's battery swap service is available to owners of its BEV (battery-electric) models, and the company has also opened some stations to other brands through partnerships, though the core network remains exclusive to Nio vehicles.
Competitive context
The expansion comes as Chinese EV makers increasingly compete on charging infrastructure. Nio's swap model contrasts with the super-fast charging approach favored by rivals such as Xpeng and Li Auto, which are building high-power DC charging networks instead of swap stations.
Nio has argued that swap stations offer advantages in battery health management and upgradeability, since packs can be centrally maintained and replaced with newer versions. The company has also experimented with battery-as-a-service subscriptions, separating battery ownership from the car purchase to lower upfront costs.
With more than 1.2 billion yuan (about $169 million) invested in NIO Power since its launch, according to Gasgoo, the network remains a capital-intensive pillar of Nio's strategy. The company has not disclosed when it expects the network to become profitable.
