As it continues to roll out new electric vehicles, Nio is also making it easier for its customers to integrate charging into their busy lifestyles.
At the company’s recent Nio Day event held in Hefei, China, Nio presented new charging infrastructure alongside the new EC7 and redesigned ES8 SUVs.
Nio, which is often billed as China’s Tesla, unveiled a new 500-kw, 650-amp fast charger capable of charging a 100-kwh battery pack from 10-80% in only 12 minutes, when the battery has an 800-volt system. For 400-volt batteries, the same charge will take 20 minutes, Nio said. The highest charging speed available in the U.S. is a 350-kw fast charger.
Nio’s new charger, which relies on the company’s own liquid-cooling technology to enable the use of a lighter, simpler cable, will be open for public use starting in March 2023. Nio currently has 2,239 charging stations in China, all of which are open to vehicles from other brands.
Nio battery
During its Nio Day event, the company also unveiled its third-generation battery swap station, designed to provide more than 400 swaps per day. The latest version enables a vehicle to autonomously exit a highway, drive up to the station and have the battery swap performed (which takes seconds), and then drive up the highway’s on ramp to continue the journey.
For the autonomous control of approaching vehicles, the station is equipped with two lidar sensors and two Nvidia OrinX chips, as well as the ability to communicate and guide the vehicle.
Nio currently has 1,286 battery swap stations in China, and a few in places like Norway, and it plans to roll out the new third-generation station also starting in March 2023. The company’s customers have the choice of whether they want to buy a battery outright or subscribe to one at the time of purchase.
The company in October marked the start of exports to a handful of European countries, and on Dec. 12 celebrated the assembly of its 300,000th vehicle, an ET5 hatchback. Nio also said it plans to be present in more than 25 countries by 2025, though it hasn’t said whether the U.S. will be one of them. With the reveal of the new EC7, Nio’s lineup now consists of seven vehicles.
