Between February 8 and February 18, owners who use battery swap stations along China's highways will be exempt from service fees but will have to pay for electricity.

(Image credit: Nio)

During the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday, Nio (NYSE: NIO) will waive a portion of the fees for vehicle owners to use battery swap stations located along highways, continuing a practice that has been in place for several major holiday periods in the past.

Between February 8 and February 18, Nio owners can have their service fees waived when using battery swap stations along China's highways, except for vehicles used for commercial operations, the company announced yesterday.

Nio's battery swap fees consist of two parts, including a service fee and an electricity fee. The service fee is usually around RMB 30 yuan ($4) or 50 yuan per service. Electricity is usually around RMB 1.5 per 1 kWh and varies from region to region.

The upcoming Chinese New Year holiday is from February 10 to February 18, with February 4 and February 18 being workdays, albeit Sundays.

The period around the Lunar New Year holiday is usually the peak of the year for Chinese people's travel, as many of those who work in cities return to their hometowns for the holiday.

January 26 to March 5 is China's officially defined Spring Festival Travel Rush in 2024, and transportation authorities expect the country to see a record 9 billion trips in those 40 days.

About 7.2 billion trips will be made by private vehicles, and about 1.8 billion trips will be made by rail, road, water, and civil aviation.

To date, Nio has 2,345 battery swap stations in China, 757 of which are located along highways, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

Nio also has 2,130 supercharging stations offering 9,784 charging posts and 1,524 destination charging stations offering 11,545 chargers.

The company previously waived fees for owners to use battery swap stations during several major holidays, initially waiving the entire fee and later waiving only the service fee.

During the Chinese New Year holiday in 2023 and the Labor Day holiday in May, Nio allowed car owners unlimited free access to battery swap stations located along highways.

During the Chinese National Day holiday in October 2023, Nio only waived the service fee for battery swap stations along highways, and car owners will need to pay for electricity.

($1 = RMB 7.1766)

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