NIO opens first battery swap station in Denmark

Chinese electric automaker Nio has officially unveiled its first battery swap station in Denmark, marking the company’s continued expansion into the European market.

According to the company’s WeChat account, the first Nio battery swapping station to launch in Denmark was unveiled on Monday in Slagelse, on the western Danish island of Zealand, about 100km southwest of Copenhagen.

This not only marks the first Nio battery swap station in Denmark, but the twelfth across five European countries – following similar launches in Germany and Sweden. Other battery swap stations have been deployed in Norway and the Netherlands.

Additionally, Nio has deployed a further 6 supercharging stations, 18 supercharging piles, and over 388,000 third-party charging piles across Europe.

Unfortunately, according to recent comments from Nio executives, deployment of its battery swap stations across Europe is well behind internal expectations – despite overall satisfaction in Nio vehicles from customers.

“Our colleagues are working hard, but this is a little bit further from our original plan,” said William Li, Nio’s founder, chairman, and CEO, in an analyst call in March.

Nio battery swap stations delivered in Europe are made at the company’s Power Europe Facility in Hungary, its first overseas plant which will be the centre for the company’s manufacturing, service, and research and development in Europe.

Nio currently offers a range of electric vehicles which are offered with the company’s battery-as-a-service model. Initial vehicle purchase costs are reduced in favour of a monthly battery subscription, which also provides access to battery swapping stations and battery upgrades.