NIO Norway's first substation opens operation

NIO aims to build 4,000 substations by the end of 2025, of which 1,000 are located overseas.

According to foreign media reports, NIO officially launched its first substation in Europe in Norway, and the company plans to open 20 substations in Norway in 2022.

NIO Substation (Source: NIO)

The substation, which officially opened this month, is located a few kilometres north of the southeastern Norwegian city of Drammen. Since November 2021, NIO has been preparing for the opening of the substation. This is a NIO 2.0 substation with 14 battery slots, including 13 battery packs and 1 empty slot, for placing the removed batteries, compared to the company's first-generation substation, which was only equipped with 5 battery packs. The substation will support the ES8 models currently being sold in Norway, and other models of the replacement system that the brand will introduce in the future will also be able to use its substation.

To date, NIO has built more than 700 substations in China, and the company aims to build 4,000 substations by the end of 2025, of which 1,000 are located overseas. Foreign media expect that later this year, Weilai will also build substations in other European countries, including Germany, Europe's largest consumer market for electric vehicles.

With battery swap technology, NIO has launched a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) sales model, which means that consumers can buy a car without paying for the battery, and then pay a monthly subscription fee to use the battery and battery swap network. The company released data showing that 92% of all its early customers in Norway opted for the BaaS model. As of now, the number of ES8 registrations in Norway has exceeded 200.

In addition to power exchange technology, NIO is also building charging infrastructure, and within its replacement station, they also provide their own brand of fast charging piles with up to 150 kilowatts of power.