Nio completes 1 million battery swaps in one week during China travel peak, operates 3,839 swap stations

Chinese EV maker Nio recorded over 1 million battery swaps in a single week during China's May Day travel rush, part of more than 100 million cumulative swaps completed to date. As of 7 May, the company operated 3,839 battery swap stations and 5,010 charging stations, with plans to add 1,000 swap stations in 2026 and reach 10,000 stations long term. Nio's three minute swap process contrasts with Tesla's 30 minute average charge time, though the company widened its net loss from 5.6 billion yuan in 2020 to 15.6 billion yuan in 2025 despite growing deliveries from 43,728 to 326,028 vehicles over the same period.

Why it matters: The swap station rollout represents a competing infrastructure model to fixed charging, with implications for site acquisition, grid connection and service speed benchmarks. Nio's expansion plans and operational volumes offer procurement teams a reference point for alternative refuelling formats, particularly in high throughput travel corridors.