Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) will offer limited-time free battery swap services along a route to the base of Mount Everest to encourage more owners to personally experience that the company's vehicles can reach any destination accessible to gasoline vehicles.
From August 29 to October 12, Nio battery swap stations along the G318 Chengdu-Lhasa national road will offer unlimited free services to all Nio and Onvo users, excluding operational vehicles, according to an announcement today.
This initiative aims to enable more users to reach Mount Everest entirely through battery swaps, overcoming long-distance travel concerns, the company said.
On August 16, Nio completed initial coverage of this route with 15 battery swap stations installed along the 2,950-kilometer stretch, averaging one station every 124 kilometers.
G318, once among China's most treacherous highways, was first opened about 70 years ago. After multiple upgrades, it has evolved into a renowned scenic route.
The route features a 5,000-meter elevation drop, traversing diverse landscapes including plains, hills, gorges, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, grasslands, and lakes.
Earlier this month, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li personally drove the third-generation ES8 SUV to verify the battery swap network along this route.
Due to Tibet's high altitude and low air density, Li was at one point forced to use an oxygen tank for supplemental oxygen.
"We welcome everyone from across the country to experience the magnificent beauty of Sichuan-Tibet and reach Mount Everest using battery swaps throughout the journey," Li wrote on Weibo today.
As of today, Nio operates 3,466 battery swap stations across China, including 1,001 along highways, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
It has 4,721 charging stations with 27,036 charging points nationwide. The company's charging network integrates over 1,343,337 third-party charging points.
Nio began pre-sales for the third-generation ES8 on August 21, with the official launch scheduled for Nio Day 2025 at the end of next month.
