NIO sets a record for car battery replacements.
The Chinese company performed 175,976 battery swaps in just 24 hours—that’s nearly two operations every second. This new result surpassed the previous record and confirmed the system’s ability to handle massive traffic volumes.
The Chinese New Year holiday travel period presented a serious challenge to electric vehicle infrastructure. Millions of drivers hit the road simultaneously, creating a heavy load on service stations. Under these conditions, the battery-swapping system demonstrated its ability to operate even under extreme demand.
The process is quite simple. The car pulls into a station, where the discharged battery is swapped for a fully charged one in about 3–5 minutes. The driver does not even need to get out of the car. In some cases, the process takes about 100 seconds, which is even faster than refueling with gasoline.
NIO’s record proves that battery swapping can compete with fast charging. The technology reduces waiting times and makes electric vehicles more convenient for long-distance travel. This is especially important for countries with a large number of EVs and heavy traffic congestion.