Owners who selected the standard 70/75-kWh capacity battery pack at the time of purchase can upgrade to the 100-kWh long range battery pack on a daily basis for about $7 per day.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) has begun allowing owners to upgrade their standard-range battery packs to long-range on a daily basis, after previously offering annual as well as monthly upgrade options.
The company unveiled the program at its third annual Nio Power Day event today, saying it allows owners to continue to enjoy the benefits of advances in battery technology.
Owners who opt for the standard range battery pack with 70/75 kWh capacity at the time of purchase will be able to upgrade to the 100-kWh long range battery pack on a daily basis.
The additional cost of the daily upgrade is RMB 50 ($7) per day, while the cost does not exceed RMB 880 per 31-day period, which is also the cost of the monthly upgrade.
If upgrading to the 100-kWh battery pack on an annual basis, the cost would be RMB 9,800 per year.
Cost of upgrading a Nio battery from 70/75-kWh to 100-kWh
| Yearly | Monthly | Daily | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing cycle (days) | 366 | 31 | 1 |
| Fee (RMB) | 9,800 | 8,800 | 50 |
Nio's initial standard range battery pack was a 70-kWh lithium ternary pack, and it launched a hybrid ternary and lithium iron phosphate pack in September 2021 with a 75-kWh capacity. Both versions of the standard range battery pack are currently circulating in its battery swap stations network.
Nio began allowing users to pay to permanently upgrade the standard range battery pack to a 100-kWh pack on November 7, 2020, and on April 16, 2021, it began allowing users to upgrade on an annual basis.
On December 5, 2021, Nio began allowing customers to upgrade their standard-range battery pack to a long-range battery pack on a monthly basis.
Offering a daily upgrade option is Nio's latest move to provide more flexibility to owners, who can return the long-range battery pack at the end of the temporary upgrade at any of the company's battery swap stations.
Nio currently has 1,564 battery swap stations in China.
In the daily upgrade program, each billing period is 24 hours, and the service is available to all owners, regardless of whether they chose to purchase a vehicle with a battery included or based on a BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental model.
Prior to the launch of the daily upgrade program, Nio had provided more than 80,000 battery upgrades to customers, said Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of the EV company, at today's event.
With the launch of this new model, Nio's flexible battery upgrade offerings for owners are expected to grow rapidly, Qin said.
($1 = RMB 7.1821)
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