Nio opens its second battery exchange station
The second exchange station in Norway, and thus also in Europe, will be in Vestby, around four miles from Oslo in the direction of Svinesund.
Nio has developed something they call Power Swap, and this is exciting stuff. It includes a battery exchange station that opens to give the electric car a fully charged battery in just five minutes.
These stations function a bit like a laundry hall. The car drives into a hall, and an automated system easily replaces the battery in the car with a fully charged one. It all takes about as long as filling up the tank at the gas station.
Another positive thing about such exchanges is that the batteries are automatically checked, and thus Nio can remove any errors or weaknesses. Diagnostics are also carried out on the electrical system in the car during the exchange.
The first station outside China was opened in January last year, and is located in Lier between Oslo and Drammen. It has become quite popular with many of the roughly 700 Nio ES8s rolling around with Norwegian plates.
– On average, we have carried out around 200 battery changes a month since we opened the station at Lier. It is clear proof that our users appreciate the battery replacement technology and the opportunities it gives them, says Marius Hayler, general manager of Nio Norge.
In total, over 1,000 battery replacements have been carried out at the station in Lier, which is actually equivalent to the same number of battery replacement stations that have been set up in the home country of China.
It is now clear for a doubling of the number of stations here in Norway, although only from one to two. Nio Norge reports that all permits have been received and the building work is finished, so they are now well underway with training personnel and testing the new station at Vestby.
The opening will take place on 15 August, and until 20 August, Nio also invites other curious people to see and experience this rather groundbreaking solution with battery replacements.
The location of the second station is not accidental, because this is also the starting signal for the Power Swap network from Norway to Europe. The station at Vestby will be a link to Gothenburg, which is around 250 kilometers away.
Through its “Battery as a Service” program, Nio Norge offers free battery replacements a month.
– Offering battery replacement is an effective way to increase the lifespan of the batteries and thereby the lifespan of electric cars. The technology represents both sustainability and ease of use, says Marius Hayler.
Nio opened its first international viewing center at Karl Johan last year, and here in Norway only ES8 is currently available. But there are several models in the group, including the two coupé models ET5 and ET7 as well as the SUV model ES7. Of these, ET7 is reported first, and then little sister ET5 will appear in the spring.
Nio also plans to expand to as many as 25 countries by 2025, and the first countries to follow Norway include Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
The Chinese brand is also in the process of setting up a factory in Hungary which, among other things, will build new battery replacement stations for the European market, so they are now preparing the network that will now be built up.
And that also includes the new station in Vestby, and this is what it looks like.
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