To date, NIO has built 3,729 battery swap stations, 28,035 charging piles, and provided access to over 1.56 million third-party charging piles. On February 6th, NIO reached a historic milestone—cumulative battery swap services surpassed 100 million times. The journey from zero to 100 million swaps took 2,819 days. Standing at this milestone, William Li, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of NIO, today officially shared the company’s infrastructure plans for its energy replenishment network in 2026. These plans include constructing 1,000 new battery swap stations in 2026 and increasing the number of “Rechargeable Scenic Routes” to 100. Furthermore, following last year’s completion of the G318 Sichuan-Tibet and Yunnan-Tibet battery swap routes, the Silk Road battery swap route will be opened this year. William Li Outlines 2026 Infrastructure Goals. According to the plan, the 1,000 new swap stations to be added in 2026 will primarily feature the fifth-generation stations. Compared to previous generations, the biggest breakthrough of the fifth-generation stations is their ability to be compatible with three brands—NIO, Onvo, and Firefly—breaking down brand barriers. Daniel, President of the Firefly brand, previously revealed that Firefly initially planned to independently build container-style swap stations but found the costs higher than expected after calculations. In early 2026, Firefly was officially integrated into NIO’s fifth-generation station network. This means that users of NIO’s entry-level brand can also enjoy the same battery swap services as premium users. In line with the energy replenishment network construction pace mentioned by William Li in his internal letter for 2026, the company plans to commence large-scale construction of the fifth-generation stations in the second quarter of 2026. It will also focus on expanding into county-level markets and major transportation arteries, advancing the “County-wide Swap Station Access” plan. The expansion of NIO’s battery swap network is not a solo endeavor. In August 2024, NIO officially launched the “Recharging Partner” program, which has also seen substantial progress. By the end of 2025, NIO had collaborated with 35 partners, including urban and transportation investment companies from 25 provinces and municipalities, to jointly build nearly 200 charging and swap stations. This leverages a lighter-asset model to accelerate network coverage. Simultaneously, NIO has engaged in deep cooperation with energy and power enterprises and industrial partners like Sinopec, State Grid, and CATL. The battery swap model has transitioned from NIO’s “strategic choice” to an “infrastructure consensus” within the industry. William Li revealed that over the past 11 years, during its exploration of battery swap technology and business models, NIO has invested approximately 18 billion RMB and filed over 2,100 related patents. To date, NIO has built 3,729 battery swap stations, 28,035 charging piles, and has provided access to over 1.56 million third-party charging piles.
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