Nio Initiates Battery Sharing To Tackle Chinese New Year Travel Surge

In anticipation of the upcoming Chinese New Year and the expected travel rush, Nio Inc. NIO is reportedly calling on the owners of vehicles equipped with 100-kWh long-range battery packs to participate in a battery-sharing initiative.

What Happened: Nio is encouraging its customers to swap their 100-kWh packs for 70/75-kWh standard-range packs at battery swap stations, CnEVPost reported, citing a post on Nio App. This initiative is expected to run from January 20 to February 20 and participants will be rewarded with Nio Credits and Nio points. While points are purely for benefits within the community, credits can be used to make purchases at Nio’s online store.

Owners who share their long-range battery packs between Jan. 20 and 31 will earn 200 Nio Credits and 2 Nio Points each day. Starting Feb. 1 through Feb. 20, the daily reward will be bumped up to 300 Nio Credits, with the Nio Points remaining unchanged.

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Moreover, customers who participate consistently for 20 days from Feb. 1-20 stand a chance to earn random rewards up to a maximum of 18,888 Nio Credits. This translates to a total potential earning of up to 27,288 Nio Credits, which equates to 2,728.8 yuan ($379.25), the report added.

Why It Matters: Battery swapping technology, contrary to the popular idea of EV charging, enables the replacement of a depleted battery with a fully charged one in minutes and seeks to alleviate wait times associated with EV charging.

Chinese Lunar New Year’s first day will fall on Feb. 10. The holidays extend up to Feb. 17 are holidays and are expected to witness a surge in travel.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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