A Chinese car brand has reached a revolutionary benchmark for its electric vehicle charging technology, which could be rolled out further across Europe in the near future.
Nio has successfully completed its 100 millionth electric vehicle battery swap, which many have suggested could be the future of charging for electric mobility.
The battery swap technology works when an electric car drives into a Power Swap location and the battery is switched for a fully charged battery.
The automatic battery swap takes just three minutes, and drivers do not need to exit the vehicle for it to take place.
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When the process is taking place, a health check on the battery and electric drive system will be performed, ensuring that the battery and the vehicle are performing optimally.
To celebrate the historic milestone, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, William Li, joined employees at a site in Shanghai to witness a battery swap involving a Nio ET5 Touring.
At the event, Mr Li emphasised the scale of the company's charging measures, with more than 2,100 patents for charging technologies. Over 1,500 of these are patents for battery swapping.
The cumulative energy savings of the Nio Power Swap technology has reached 5.28 billion kWh, while drivers have saved 83 million hours by swapping rather than waiting for their EVs to charge.
Nio celebrated a major milestone of its Power Swap technology
| GETTYBattery swapping has also seen huge financial benefits, with average savings of RMB 26.3 billion (£2.8billion) in energy costs, or RMB 27,000 (£2,900) per user on average.
Commenting on the milestone, Nio said: "The achievement of 100 million battery swaps is not merely a number. For NIO, 100 million battery swaps marks a new beginning."
It confirmed that it would continue to invest in charging and swapping infrastructure to help an increasing number of drivers get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle.
Nio will oversee the rollout of the fifth-generation of the Power Swap Stations later this year, adding to its 3,790 stations around the world.
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Nio founder William Li praised the 100 millionth battery swap
|NIO
Nio has installed 1,020 Power Swap Stations across popular motorways in China, with plans to install 1,000 more Stations this year.
The Shanghai-based firm added that it would "create sustained value for users, businesses, and society, building a solid foundation for the profitability and long-term growth of its energy services".
It also set a new record for the number of battery swaps in one day, with 158,290 swaps on February 18, as drivers across China travelled to be with friends and family for the Lunar New Year celebrations.
The network saw 6,595 replacements per hour at its peak, at a rate of around 110 per minute across China.
Nio said it would look to introduce the Firefly to the UK market this year
| NIONio has already confirmed that it will launch its products in the UK, which could see the brand look to install its Power Swap Stations and Power Chargers across the country.
It is expected to enter the UK market with its electric Firefly hatchback, with many suggesting it will look to directly challenge the Mini Cooper.
It is already on sale in the Netherlands for a price of less than €30,000 (£26,223), which would rival the price of the Mini, which starts from £26,905.