Customers who buy a Nio vehicle including the battery pack on or after January 1, 2024, will only be able to permanently upgrade the standard-range battery pack to long-range one year later.
(Image credit: CnEVPost)
Nio (NYSE: NIO) has announced new rules for paid battery upgrades that are generally consistent with previous ones, but add restrictions for owners who wish to upgrade permanently.
Beginning January 1, 2024, for customers who purchase a Nio vehicle with the battery included, they will only be eligible to permanently upgrade their standard range battery pack to long-range one year later, the company announced today.
For customers who purchase a Nio vehicle under the BaaS (battery as a service) program, they will still be able to permanently upgrade their standard-range battery pack to a long-range battery pack at any time.
Customers who purchase a vehicle under the BaaS program do not own the battery pack, which reduces the purchase price by at least RMB 70,000 yuan ($9,860). They will need to pay RMB 980 or RMB 1,680 per month for battery leasing, depending on whether the battery pack is standard or long-range.
Nio's battery swap network currently has battery packs in circulation that include 70-kWh/75-kWh standard-range packs, as well as 100-kWh long-range packs. The company's 150-kWh semi-solid battery pack is not yet in service.
Nio allows customers to upgrade their standard-range battery packs to long-range on a daily, monthly, or annual basis, or they can pay a one-time fee to upgrade permanently.
This flexibility makes it unnecessary for most customers to choose long-range packs when purchasing a Nio vehicle, as they can get them anytime, on demand, at any battery swap station. As of today, Nio has 2,314 battery swap stations in China.
Prior to the launch of the battery upgrade program in December 2021, 50 percent of customers opted for the standard range battery pack and the other 50 percent opted for the long-range version when they purchased a Nio vehicle, William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, said at the Nio Day 2023 event on December 23.
However, by November 2023, 95 percent of customers choose the standard range battery pack when purchasing a Nio vehicle, while only 5 percent choose the long-range, Li said.
(In his presentation at Nio Day 2023, William Li said that 95 percent of customers currently choose a standard range battery pack when purchasing a Nio vehicle. Photo taken by CnEVPost)
Nio began offering a flexible battery upgrade option for all owners on December 5, 2021, when it allowed monthly, annual and permanent upgrades.
On July 20 of this year, Nio upgraded the service to begin allowing owners to upgrade their standard range battery packs to long range on a daily basis, at a cost of RMB 50 per day.
($1 = RMB 7.0979)
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