- NIO dramatically scaled holiday operations, running 9,567 stations and delivering over 2 million charging and swap services during China’s seven-day 2026 National Day holiday, reflecting focus on network expansion and customer retention.
- NIO reported 1.19 million battery swaps (up 22% YoY), 24.83 million kWh on highways (up 30.8% YoY), 4,168 swap stations including 1,073 on highways, and 5,399 charging stations with 31,091 piles.
- The network targets other EV owners and highway travel, pressuring rivals like Tesla and BYD on convenience, but risks include scaling operational costs, station deployment pacing, and maintaining margins during rapid utilization growth.
On October 9, NIO Power released its user charging and battery-swap report for China’s 2026 National Day holiday.
From October 1 to 7, its 9,567 charging and battery-swap stations nationwide provided more than 2 million services.
Charging and battery-swap volume on highways exceeded 24.83 million kWh, up 30.8% year on year and accounting for 13.7% of the national total for highway charging and battery swapping.
October 1 and October 5 were the outbound and return travel peaks, respectively. Daily battery-swap volumes set new records on both days, with the highest reaching 183,664 swaps.
Over the holiday period, NIO Power provided a total of 1.19 million battery-swap services, up 22% year on year.
As of the report’s release, NIO Power had built 4,168 battery-swap stations across China, including 1,073 along highways, connecting more than 550 cities.
Beyond its regular highway network, NIO is also expanding cross-regional battery-swap routes.
During the holiday, its 92 “Power Journey” routes collectively provided more than 131,526 charging and battery-swap services.
On September 26, NIO completed its 3,605-km Silk Road battery-swap route, which features 33 stations.
The company plans to have a total of 100 Power Journey routes in operation by the end of 2026.
NIO Power’s services are not limited to NIO-brand vehicles. Its charging network currently includes 5,399 charging stations and 31,091 charging piles, which are also available to users of other new-energy vehicle brands.
On October 3, cumulative charging sessions on NIO’s charging network surpassed 100 million. Non-NIO vehicles accounted for 86.69% of the electricity delivered through the network.
Nationwide, demand for charging services from new-energy vehicles also increased significantly during the holiday.
According to the National Energy Administration, EVs made 6.711 million charging sessions on highways during the National Day holiday, with total charging volume reaching 163 million kWh.
Average daily charging volume was approximately 23.2566 million kWh, up 51.42% year on year.
NIO Power accounted for 13.7% of China’s total highway charging and battery-swap volume during the holiday, giving it a notable share of the country’s highway energy replenishment network.
As of October 9, NIO Power had provided more than 227 million charging and battery-swap services cumulatively, including over 127 million battery swaps.
Alongside the growth in energy-replenishment services, NIO also maintained delivery growth in September.
The company delivered 37,408 new vehicles during the month, up 7.7% year on year.
Of the total, the NIO brand delivered 21,318 vehicles, ONVO delivered 8,763, and firefly delivered 7,327.
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