The route, part of Nio's Power Journeys program, begins in Xi'an, Shaanxi province in northwest China and ends in Khorgos, Xinjiang.
(Image credit: Nio)
Nio's (NYSE: NIO) battery swap network has completed initial coverage of the historic Silk Road route in China, as the electric vehicle (EV) maker continues to build out its power-up network.
Nio announced the progress today on its mobile app, saying the route is 3,133 kilometers long with 33 charging and battery swap stations along the way, an average of one station every 95 kilometers.
The route starts in Xi'an, Shaanxi province in northwest China and ends in Khorgos, Xinjiang.
The Silk Road dates back as far as the Han Dynasty and is known for the original silk trade, connecting China with Central and West Asia.
Here's a video Nio shared on its mobile app about the power-up route.
It's part of Nio's Power Journeys program, under which the company has opened dozens of power-up lines.
Power Journeys, originally called the Power Up Plan, was first announced at the Beijing auto show in late September 2020, with the aim of deploying destination DC chargers at popular travel, leisure and business destinations to form a nationwide charging network.
On the first day of this year's Shanghai auto show on April 18, Nio announced that it was upgrading Power Up Plan to Power Journeys and would continue to push forward with the construction of charging facilities.
With Nio's plan to add 1,000 battery swap stations and 10,000 charging piles this year, Power Journeys will meet the charging needs of more users, the company's founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said in a brief press event at the time.
Nio will add an additional 20 charging routes under the Power Journeys program this year, covering areas including the Silk Road, southeastern Guizhou, and the Xilingol Grasslands, he said at the time.
Li said Nio wants Power Journeys to meet users' demand for energy replenishment so that EVs can go where gasoline cars can go.
To date, Nio has 1,563 battery swap stations in China, data monitored by CnEVPost show. It aims to add 1,000 new facilities throughout this year, bringing the total to 2,300 by the end of the year.
Nio also has 1,508 supercharging stations in China offering 7,390 charging piles, and 1,304 destination charging stations offering 9,339 charging piles.
