Nio sets new battery daily swap record during Chinese new year travel rush

Nio set a new record with 146,649 battery swaps completed on February 15, 2026, coinciding with the start of the Chinese New Year holiday travel rush. This milestone comes just days after Nio reached its 100 millionth battery swap on February 6.

Nio has built an extensive energy replenishment network across China, with more than 8,600 charging and battery swap stations nationwide, including over 3,700 dedicated battery swap stations. The company has established more than 1,000 swap stations along highways, covering 9 north-south routes, 11 east-west routes, 16 major metropolitan clusters, and connecting 550 cities throughout China.

According to the “Spring Festival Highway Network Operation Analysis Report” released by the Ministry of Transport on February 16, traffic during this year’s holiday will follow a “low before, high after” pattern with tidal fluctuations.

The report forecasts an average daily traffic volume of 55 million vehicles on national highways during the Spring Festival, a 4.5% increase compared to the same period in 2025. The peak is expected on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year (Feb 22nd), with traffic reaching 71 million vehicles—approximately double the normal daily volume.

The report also highlights that new energy vehicles (NEVs) are expected to account for approximately 22% of total traffic during the holiday period, with a daily average of 12 million NEVs on the road. During the peak day, NEV traffic could reach 15.3 million vehicles.

With these projections, Nio’s recent battery swap record may soon be broken as more travellers hit the road in the coming days, putting the company’s innovative energy replenishment network to the ultimate test during China’s busiest travel period.

Editor’s comment

To promote consumption, China offers free access to its national expressways during several major holidays. The most significant of these are the Spring Festival long holiday, which occurs annually in January or February, and the National Day holiday in October. If I recall correctly, Nio’s previous daily battery swap record was broken during last year’s National Day holiday.