NIO, which has been "stubbornly" pursuing battery swapping, has finally seen the dawn of hope.

On May 31, NIO Energy Investment Co., Ltd. received a strategic investment of 1.5 billion yuan from institutions such as Wuhan Guangchuang Emerging Technology Venture Capital Fund Partnership.

According to media reports, this 1.5 billion yuan strategic investment will be used for the layout and development of charging, battery swapping, energy storage, battery services, and NIO Energy's charging and battery swapping infrastructure. It is worth noting that Wuhan Guangchuang Emerging Technology Venture Capital Fund has a "local state-owned capital background".

This investment also implies that NIO's battery swapping model has at least gained recognition from local state-owned capital.

In fact, since the first battery swapping station went into operation in 2018, NIO's battery swapping model has been controversial, especially against the backdrop of consecutive years of huge losses. Many media outlets viewed NIO's battery swapping model as a "burden." However, facing numerous doubts, NIO has not given up on battery swapping.

According to media statistics, as of May 31, NIO has built 2,427 battery swapping stations nationwide.

From the current perspective, NIO, which follows the battery swapping model as a "minority," seems to have found its own way.

The "Minority" of Battery Swapping

In fact, the battery swapping model was not the first proposed by NIO.

As early as 2017, Shai Agassi of Israel launched the battery swapping technology for pure electric vehicles and founded the battery swapping company Better Place. A year later, Israel established its first battery swapping station and signed a cooperation agreement with Renault. With the completion of the battery swapping station, Better Place's valuation once reached $2.25 billion.

However, due to the high upfront cost of purchasing batteries, the construction of battery swapping stations required significant investment, and the market demand was small at the time, with only 1% of actual orders, making it difficult to support project operations. Eventually, Better Place went bankrupt in 2013. After Better Place's bankruptcy, Tesla also tried battery swapping but quickly abandoned it due to the high cost.

Although there have been many failed cases, it seems that NIO's Li Bin has found a way.

In 2015, NIO, a leading new force, was officially established, initially setting a product plan combining charging and swapping. On May 20, 2018, NIO's first battery swapping station was completed in Shenzhen Nanshan Science and Technology Park. From that moment on, NIO officially embarked on the "irreversible path" of stubbornly pursuing the battery swapping model. According to media reports, as of May 31 this year, NIO has built 2,427 battery swapping stations nationwide, and almost every city now has a NIO battery swapping station.

Of course, NIO's journey has not been easy, as the cost of building and maintaining a battery swapping station is indeed high.

Previous media reports have mentioned that the main cost of building a NIO battery swapping station is approximately 1.5 million to 3 million yuan, with the cost of the first-generation battery swapping station ranging from 2.5 million to 3 million yuan. Although the cost of the second-generation battery swapping station has decreased, it still requires about 1.5 million yuan. In addition, each battery swapping station may require approximately 500,000 yuan in annual operating costs, including personnel management, equipment maintenance, and battery replacement reserves.

Previously, Li Bin and Shen Fei, NIO's vice president in charge of energy, have mentioned multiple times that a single battery swapping station becomes profitable if it handles 50-60 battery swaps per day.

The Path of the "Narrow Door"

The biggest challenge facing the battery swapping model is that too few automakers are currently following this route.

However, it must be said that this "narrow door" path is being recognized by more and more companies. According to statistics, seven automakers have joined NIO's "Battery Swapping Alliance" this year, including large automakers such as Changan and Geely.

However, it should be noted that these automakers' battery swapping services are still in the development stage. Taking Changan Automobile as an example, the current battery swapping models are mainly Changan Yidong, and these battery swapping models are mainly used in the operational market such as taxis. Geely's situation is roughly the same, with battery swapping models mainly from the Zeekr brand, which also targets the operational market such as taxis and ride-hailing cars.

Currently, NIO's battery swapping stations mainly serve NIO owners. As NIO's user base is already very large, this can support the operation of the battery swapping stations.

To promote wider adoption, the standardization of battery swapping is an issue that NIO needs to address in the future.

According to relevant media, other automakers must use unified battery packs, standard chassis, and even integrate battery management systems and energy management systems, which is obviously not easy. However, this year, five battery swapping standards have been announced for public consultation, including battery swapping cooling interfaces, battery swapping mechanisms, battery swapping battery packs, and communication between vehicles and battery packs.

But the rapid development of fast charging technology is also a challenge to the battery swapping model.

Compared to charging, the biggest advantage of battery swapping is speed. According to NIO executives, during long-distance travel and long holidays when the number of battery swaps increases significantly, the average full battery swap time for NIO users is about 10 minutes, while charging takes 30-40 minutes.

It is undeniable that battery swapping does have its advantages, but with the development of fast charging technology, the advantages of battery swapping have also been challenged. According to media reports, ultra-fast charging can now achieve about 80% charge in about 10 minutes. Moreover, this year, various automakers are accelerating the deployment and construction of ultra-fast charging stations. Ideal Auto will complete the construction of over 300 high-speed ultra-fast charging stations this year, and XPeng Motors announced that the 233rd S4 XPeng ultra-fast charging station has landed in Zhangzhou, Fujian, officially covering 100 cities nationwide with ultra-fast charging stations.

From the current perspective, although it has been more than five years since NIO's first battery swapping station went into operation, and the current battery swapping station layout is becoming increasingly perfect, from a business perspective, the battery swapping model is a "narrow door" path, but once it is successful, NIO's automotive business may reach a new level.