Nio Expands Battery-Swapping Network as EV Sales Are Expected to Double
Jane Lu
· 3 min read
Electric vehicles
(EVs) are starting to take over and adoption rates in some countries have increased exponentially. EV manufacturers are working on improving battery technology and charging infrastructure to help consumers switch to electric.
Tesla
, for example, recently opened up their supercharger network
to work with other EV brands.China has also seen a recent boom in EV sales. As more people adopt EVs, there will need to be more charging stations available. Nio, a Chinese EV automaker, has announced a plan to expand its battery swap network to make it easier for consumers to charge their cars.
Here’s more information about Nio’s approach to EV charging and some of the benefits.
The increase in electric vehicle sales
EV sales are expected to rapidly increase and double this year in China. According to
MarketWatch
, analysts at Deutsche Bank said that EVs and hybrids account for around 14% to 15% of the sales in June. The includes data from four major EV manufacturers in China: Nio, XPeng, Li Auto, and WM Motor Technology Group. This indicates major growth in the Chinese EV market.
Pew Research Center
reported that China has 44% of all the EVs in the world which totals to over 4.5 million vehicles. This is greater than the European and U.S. markets, which have 36% and 17% of the world's EVs respectively.Let Jerry find your price in only 45 seconds
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The charging station problem
MORE: How Eco-Friendly are Electric Vehicles, Actually?
As reported by MarketWatch, EV owners in China can’t rely on home charging because it isn’t viable for most households to install private chargers. Because of this, public charging stations are often busy and overcrowded.
Using charging stations can also be time-consuming. To keep up with the increase of EV adoption, manufacturers and policymakers need to focus on growing and improving charging infrastructure. Nio is leading the initiative for "battery as a service" to help solve barriers to EV ownership.
Nio's solution to EV charging
Nio announced on their first Nio Power Day that they'd be expanding their network of battery swap stations, as reported by
InsideEVs
. EV owners won’t need to charge their batteries at a public charging station or at home. All they need to do is swap their battery pack for a fully charged one. The fully automated process is estimated to take only a few minutes.Nio has 301 Power Swap stations, according to InsideEVs. As of this year, they've been used 2.9 million times overall. The company plans to add 600 units a year and have 4,000 stations by 2025. If this goal is reached, EV owners will be living less than three kilometers or around 1.8 miles away from a battery swap station. This will make charging much more accessible for drivers.
The company also announced that they'll be opening up their technology for other manufacturers to use. The first swap station for Europe in Norway will be launched in 2022.
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