NIO has announced a new milestone in its energy infrastructure operations, reporting a record-breaking 183,469 battery swaps in a single day on October 1, 2026. This achievement highlights the rapid adoption of the company’s battery-swapping technology, with an average of one swap completed every 0.47 seconds across the NIO, ONVO, and Firefly vehicle lineups.
As of October 5, NIO’s nationwide charging and swapping network has expanded to 9,529 stations. This infrastructure includes 4,163 battery-swapping stations and 5,366 charging stations, equipped with a total of 30,922 charging piles. To date, the network has provided over 120 million battery swaps.
A significant development in this expansion is the comprehensive strategic partnership established with Geely Holding Group on September 28. The agreement covers technology, operations, and capital investment, aiming to unify charging and swapping standards. Under the terms, Geely will invest 640 million yuan (approximately $90.5 million USD) in cash and contribute 100% of its equity in YiYi Power to NIO Energy. Upon completion, Geely will hold a 30% stake in NIO Energy, and YiYi Power’s commercial vehicle swapping operations will be integrated into the platform.
The collaboration also extends to smart charging. NIO will acquire a 10% stake in Geely’s Haohan Energy, enabling full interoperability between the two companies’ charging networks. Geely aims to deploy over 22,000 charging stations and 100,000 charging piles by the end of 2027, with a focus on achieving comprehensive coverage in county-level cities across China.
NIO Energy remains committed to its long-term infrastructure goals, planning to reach a total of 10,000 battery-swapping stations by 2030. The company projects that its network will handle an annual electricity demand exceeding 10 billion kWh by that time, underscoring the growing commercial and social value of battery swapping as a critical energy infrastructure.
