Shanghai-headquartered NIO Incorporated, an automobile manufacturer with specialization in designing & developing electric vehicles (EVs), recently announced the opening of its first battery swap station in Sweden to prop up its expansion in Europe.
The NIO battery swap station has been installed in Varberg, alongside the E6 highway between Gothenburg and Malmo. It will serve the purpose of long-distance travel.
After grabbing a significant part of the EV market in its home country, the Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer is now trying to stretch its feet into Europe. Earlier this week, it delivered the first batch of the NIO ET7 to pre-order holders in Sweden. In the region, NIO intends to offer a total of three fully-electric models, viz. the ET7 sedan, EL7 SUV, and ET5 sedan.
The opening of the battery swap station is expected to attract more potential buyers to switch from ICEs to electric powertrains as range anxiety remains one of the top concerns among such consumers. In short, NIO’s Swedish customers will surely benefit from the battery swap service, especially when the company’s EV sales in the country will grow in the coming years.
The Chinese manufacturer claims, “With more than 1,200 patented technologies, the NIO Power Swap charging solution is the first in the world where you have a new battery at lightning speed, even before your favorite song has been played.”
The latest battery swap stations of the company are locally manufactured in Europe at the Chinese brand’s new NIO Power Europe Plant, which is based in Hungary. In addition to that, the company is making huge investments in AC and DC fast charging infrastructure to help boost adoption of its EVs in the region.
In Norway, NIO opened two battery swap stations this year. The first one was opened in January, while the second one was opened in the month of August. In Germany, the company’s first battery swap station was installed in September. According to the company future plans, the Netherlands will get its first battery swap station on December 1, 2022.
In China, NIO has already built a network of more than 1,200 battery swap stations. By the end of this year, the company aims to have at least 1,300 stations. Worldwide, the company aims to install more than 4,000 such stations by December 31, 2025, including 1,000 outside its home country.