Made-in-China Battery Swap Reaches Industrial Maturity: NIO Power Crosses 9,000 Stations and 200 Million Cumulative Services

NIO has put a long-running industry debate on hold. On June 24, 2026 the company switched on its 9,000th NIO Power site in Ankang, Shaanxi, taking the operator to 9,003 swap and charging stations nationwide and more than 200 million cumulative energy services delivered since 2018. For a network that critics have long argued would be outrun by ultra-fast charging, that is a notable inflection point for the made-in-China swap model.

Key Highlights

The 9,003 footprint splits into roughly 3,400 dedicated Power Swap Stations (PSS), around 5,200 NIO-branded DC fast-charging sites — operating at 500 V and 1,000 V architectures with up to 640 kW peak — and another 400 destination chargers. Daily throughput has averaged over 70,000 swaps in 2026, NIO’s highest level ever. Roughly 30% of that volume now comes from partner brands such as Changan/Avatr, Geely and FAW, signalling that swap can scale beyond a single OEM. NIO’s overseas footprint sits at about 70 PSS across Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Germany, with 40-50 more European stations planned in H2 2026 including Italy and the UK.

Why It Matters for the Made-in-China EV Story

The 200 million-service number reframes battery swap from an exotic experiment into a commercially viable energy layer. A complete PSS swap takes three to five minutes — quicker than any non-megawatt DC stall — which keeps the model decisively attractive for commercial fleets, taxis and ride-hail drivers. Equally important, NIO’s Battery-as-a-Service rental flow now drives around 20% of monthly orders, turning the swap network into a revenue channel rather than a cost centre. With per-station throughput climbing, NIO Power is approaching operating profitability at the network level, a milestone that has been debated for years. For the full timeline, station mix and partner-brand share, iEVChina’s complete coverage of the 9,000-station milestone walks through the underlying disclosures.

What’s Next

NIO’s identity is shifting. With 5,200 DC sites, the brand now sits inside China’s top-five public DC operators — it is no longer simply “the swap company” but a hybrid energy provider. Expect the next batch of disclosures to focus on cross-brand PSS utilisation, European corridor expansion and the rollout of the PSS 4.0 generation, which trims a typical swap to roughly three minutes flat.

Source: Autohome.com