Battery Swap

In addition to offering battery swap-enabled models for the cab market, SAIC Roewe is also considering offering such models for the average consumer, providing a new endorsement for a model strongly advocated by Nio.

For Nio, in addition to the consideration of replenishment speed, more importantly, it hopes that car owners can enjoy the benefits of battery technology progresses.

Late last month, Tesla's addition of battery swap-related content to its scope of operations in China sparked widespread debate. Now the electric car company has removed it.

Even though the potential partnership between Nio and fossil fuel energy giant Sinopec has yet to be announced, leading Chinese securities media are already envisioning the prospect of Nio vehicles being able to change batteries at gas stations.

A Tesla China executive's suggestion that charging is the best way to replenish energy and that battery swap, a model central to Nio, will be replaced has sparked an unhappy response from the latter.

Nio plans to have 500 battery swap stations in China by the end of 2021, and currently has about 200.

Some customers and Nio staff have already worked together to experience the battery swap process, which takes 2-3 minutes.

Tesla sources said the company will not adopt the battery swap model.

Nio's second-generation battery swap station has completed its validation work and started critical testing before deployment, which is expected to begin in April.

William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, and the company's president Qin Lihong were on site for the testing, proving the importance the company places on the next-generation battery swap station.