NIO Claps Back At Tesla Battery Swapping Claims – CleanTechnica

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Last Updated on: 21st February 2025, 01:58 am

NIO has completed more than 66 million battery swaps at its 3,000+ battery swapping stations. Tesla had one battery swapping station that was hard to find and barely used about a decade ago in California. Nonetheless, reportedly, someone at Tesla tried to shoot down battery swapping as a horrible idea in a recent post titled “What are the advantages of charging compared to battery swapping?” that was apparently directed at NIO Vice President of Power Shen Fei. “Although the automaker was not explicitly named, Tesla was mentioned multiple times in both the letter and Shen’s response, which he shared on his Weibo account on Saturday.”

I don’t know what’s going on here, but it sounds like some kind of battle for customers in China. I just find it humorous that someone would attack a company’s battery swapping approach as pointless when the company has performed 66 million battery swaps. Also, I have found it interesting that NIO has basically stood alone in the auto world in developing its vast battery swapping network, and have always wondered how that would evolve.

“Battery swapping is always an intermediate process. You always have to go somewhere to do something specifically for another purpose—just like going to a gas station to refuel,” the original post noted, before adding that charging “can be a destination or a stop along the way.” That’s all fair and good, and no one is saying charging doesn’t have a place and have some advantages, but perhaps battery swapping also has a place for a lot of people and a lot of scenarios?

“After you park, you don’t need any extra steps. You just plug in the charger, and by the time you’re ready to leave, the battery is charged,” the statement added. Yep, we get all that, and have been making this point for a decade and a half (or longer for some of you readers). But sometimes people could also benefit from a quick 3-minute battery swap, and there are many people who don’t have convenient home or workplace charging.

Here’s more (translated) from the original letter criticizing NIO’s battery swap system:

“Tesla had highly advanced battery swapping technology, but after testing it, we abandoned it for three reasons:

“1. Technological iteration: Battery technology is constantly evolving. Tesla integrates the battery into the vehicle chassis, reducing weight and improving efficiency. However, the structural constraints of battery swapping prevent flexibility in adapting new battery technologies.

“2. Safety concerns: Battery swapping requires frequent disassembly and installation of high-voltage components and fasteners. Doesn’t this pose safety risks? While we don’t know for certain, it is worth considering. Additionally, Tesla treats the battery as an integral structural component of the vehicle, which enhances safety.

“3. Cost control: Every battery swap station is like a real estate investment—you have to rent or buy land. However, with charging, existing parking lots can be used without additional infrastructure costs.”

Shen Fei clapped back, starting with a bit of humor. “Received a ‘battery swapping’ talking points card from a competitor—quite interesting! [laughing emoji]”

“Here are the real facts: Battery swapping and charging are not in conflict! Nio offers ‘chargeable, swappable, and upgradeable’ options,” he stated. Exactly — the more choice, the merrier, right?

“Charging at home is great (Nio supports that too), but for long trips or when home charging isn’t available, a 3-minute battery swap gets you back on the road—much faster than charging!” NIO’s VP added. “No need to step out in the wind or rain.”

NIO also adds that it has installed more than 20,000 charging piles, in addition to all of the battery swapping infrastructure.

“A gas car’s engine remains the same after 10 years, but a Nio car from 2018 can now use the latest battery, doubling its range!” Shen Fei added. “Integrated battery and chassis? Pros and cons! If the battery breaks, repairs can be insanely expensive,” Fei Shen argues, but with battery swapping, drivers “get both an upgrade and an easy fix without replacing everything.”

Nio’s “battery swap fasteners hold a national patent—3,000 swaps without loosening, good for 600,000 km,” and “every swap includes a battery check-up, detecting small issues early and significantly reducing fire risks!”

Those are a lot of advantages that most of us don’t even consider when thinking about battery swapping.

Shen Fei also points out that battery swapping can be more resource efficient, whereas oversized batteries sit being unused most of the time just to provide long range that is almost never needed. You don’t need a monster battery if you can quickly do a battery swap. These batteries can also be used for electricity backup in the region.

“Tesla didn’t make it work back then because American and Chinese consumer needs are different,” Shen Fei added. “But we have Nio, and when it comes to battery swapping, China just does it better!” Maybe that is the case now.