NIO Battery Swaps Surpass 130 Million; Charging Network Keeps Growing

NIO released new operational data on November 3, 2026, revealing that the brand's cumulative battery swap count across China has surpassed 130 million. As of 18:53 that day, the company reported daily swap volumes exceeding 110,000, meaning one vehicle completes a battery swap approximately every 0.77 seconds on average.

The pace of adoption has accelerated sharply. It took NIO 1,506 days to reach its first 10 million swaps, but the jump from 120 million to 130 million was achieved in just 88 days — a clear sign that the swap model is scaling rapidly.

Charging Infrastructure Expansion

NIO now operates 4,236 swap stations nationwide, including 1,077 located along highways. These form a network of nine vertical and eleven horizontal corridors spanning 16 major city clusters and connecting 550 cities. The company has also built 5,556 self-operated charging stations housing 32,261 charging piles, while integrating over 1.76 million third-party chargers. In total, NIO's charging and swapping station footprint reaches 9,792 locations.

Accessibility remains strong: 84.5 percent of NIO users can find at least one swap station within three kilometers of their home or workplace. The brand has also opened 92 "charging corridor" scenic routes and plans to reach 100 by the end of 2026.

User Savings and Long-Distance Validation

According to NIO's own calculations, the 130 million swaps have delivered 6.89 billion kWh of energy. Compared with refueling equivalent-distance gasoline vehicles, this has saved users approximately 33.64 billion RMB (approx. $4.67 billion). Relative to conventional charging, users have saved roughly 110 million hours of time.

In late October, a fleet of four NIO ES8 owners drove from Guangzhou to Khorgos in Xinjiang — an 8,045-km journey across 10 provinces and 60 cities — relying entirely on 79 highway swap stations along the route, demonstrating the practicality of long-distance travel on NIO's swap network.

Sales Growth

The infrastructure rollout has coincided with strong sales. From January to October 2026, NIO delivered 334,547 vehicles, up 38.5 percent year on year, a record for the period. Key models including the all-new ES8 and ES9 have maintained leading positions in their segments, with the swap-based refueling experience cited as a key competitive differentiator.