Nio sets a new record for EV battery swaps
Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Nio set a new record for the number of traction battery swaps in a day. This happened just two days after the previous achievement. The secret of success is the peak traffic period during the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
What is known
On February 18, a network of 3,750 Power Swap Station (PSS) stations performed 158,290 battery swaps in 24 hours. The previous maximum was recorded on February 16 — 146,549 operations. In addition, on February 6, the company conducted the 100 millionth battery swap since the service launched.
On February 18, 2026, Nio registered 158,290 battery swaps at Power Swap Station. Illustration: Nio
On average, the network performed about 6,595 swaps per hour, or approximately 110 operations per minute. The three most loaded PSSs are located on highways, explained by mass travel across the country during the holiday period.
The station on the highway near Fuzhou city (Fujian province) performed 166 swaps a day. The procedure for swapping a discharged battery with a charged one takes about three minutes.
The peak transport load in China is expected on February 22, when up to 71 million cars may be on the roads. Therefore, it is possible that Nio will update the record again.
The company continues to expand the network of battery swap stations. Previously, Nio signed strategic cooperation agreements with CATL, Changan Automobile, Geely, Chery, GAC Group, FAW Group, and JAC Motors. These manufacturers plan to produce electric vehicles compatible with Nio stations.
Recall, Power Swap Station allows Nio electric vehicle owners to fully automatically swap a discharged battery with a fully charged one. The driver enters the station, where a robotic system extracts the depleted battery from the bottom of the car and installs a charged one, after which the car is ready for further travel — the entire process occurs without human intervention.
Source: CarNewsChina
