Nio, the Chinese EV maker and yet another self-proclaimed Tesla rival, has been ranked as China’s most valuable car brand just as the company has updated its battery swap station rollout to include its second-generation model.
Nio first unveiled its Battery Swap Station back in 2017 and launched the first station in 2018 at the Nanshan High Tech Industrial Park in Shenzhen, China. Since then, Nio has completed over 4 million battery swaps and powered over 2 billion kilometres of electric driving distance.
Doubling down on its battery swap technology, Nio also announced in July at its first “Power Day” that it planned to increase its target number of installed battery swap stations across 60 cities in China from 500 to 700 by the end of the year.
The second generation of its Battery Swap Station, installed at Sinopec’s Chaoying Station in Beijing is part of a partnership with the Sinopec Group, the largest oil and petrochemical product supplier and China’s second-largest oil and gas producer.
NIO’s Newest Generation Power Swap Station 2.0 from NIO on Vimeo.
The battery swap station now has 14 battery slots which allows for a total 312 swaps per day. It is highly automated, with 239 sensors and four collaborating cloud computing systems to position the vehicle and conduct the battery swap.
News of the rollout came as Nio was rated China’s most valuable car brand – overtaking BYD and ahead of Great Wall Motor – by Hurun Report, which was established in the late-1990s by Rupert Hoogewerf, also known by his Chinese name, Hu Run.
The report says Nio’s brand value has grown by 145% from last year to RMB 71 billion, thanks largely to its ambitious expansion program, which includes a plan to deploy nearly 4,000 Battery Swap Stations around the globe by 2025.
Nio also announced in August that it is planning to deliver three new electric vehicles in 2022 based on its Nio Technology Platform 2.0 – including the already announced ET7, a flagship premium smart electric sedan. Also in August, Nio revealed its plans to introduce a budget electric car brand so as to allow it to better compete with Tesla and other EV makers.
At the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Nio founder, chair and CEO Li Bin said that the preparations for Nio’s entry into the mass market have been accelerated, and while the name of the new brand was not revealed, Li Bin reportedly said: “The relationship between the Nio brand and this new brand is similar to Lexus and Toyota, Audi and Volkswagen.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.