EV company Nio aims to build battery chargers and swap stations in every Chinese county

BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Nio said Tuesday it plans to install battery charging stations in every one of China's 2,844 counties by the end of June 2025.

The company also announced plans to expand its battery swap stations to more than 2,300 of China's counties by the end of 2025. Nio aims to start reaching the remainder of counties with power swaps in 2026, although it did not specify an end date.

Nio's efforts to build out its battery charging and swapping stations comes as consumers remain concerned about how far an electric car can drive on a single charge. Counties are one of the lowest-level jurisdictions in China, typically in less developed areas.

The company said more than 200 other car brands can access its charging stations, and more than 80% of the electricity Nio chargers provide go to other brands' cars.

Chinese electric car companies are also trying to reduce the time drivers need to wait at a charging station.

Geely-owned Zeekr earlier this month announced its cars equipped with its new batteries can go from a 10% to an 80% charge in just 10.5 minutes using the company's ultra-fast charging station. That's faster than what Tesla advertises for its Model 3.

It wasn't immediately clear how quickly Nio's fastest battery chargers could replenish a battery.

With battery swapping, Nio claims it can use an automated system to give drivers of compatible cars a charged battery in about three minutes.

The company has ramped up strategic partnerships with automakers such as Chang'an and Geely for its battery swapping business.

Nio said that as of Aug. 20, it has installed more than 23,000 charging stations and at least 2,480 battery swap stations. It has completed more than 51 million battery swaps to date.

Batter