Chinese EV challenger brand Nio is continuing the European expansion of its charging and battery swapping services with the opening of two new Power Swap Stations in Malmö and Arlandastad, Sweden.

Nio now has 30 Power Swap Stations across all five European markets that it’s present in and over 2,200 worldwide, including China

The brand, already present in five European markets and working to introduce its model line-up and service in the UK, offers a bespoke set-up where the batteries in its electric cars can be swapped out for a fully charged one when depleted.

The stations in Europe are open to drivers opting for Nio’s ‘Battery as a Service’ system, whereby they pay a lower upfront price for the car and lease the battery.

Nio said the new stations belong to its third generation, which can perform up to 408 swaps per day and store up to 21 batteries.

It now has 30 Power Swap Stations across all five European markets and over 2,200 worldwide, including China.

Nio has also welcomed two new major partners to its Battery Swap technology in the form of Volvo parent Geely Holding and Changan Auto.

The deal with Geely will further standardise battery swapping technology, increase the scale of the battery swap network, and accelerate the low-carbon transformation of the automotive industry.

William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio, said: “This strategic partnership will further popularise battery swapping, bring quality and convenient battery swapping experience to more users and contribute to the steady development of the smart EV industry. We will continue to advance the construction of battery swapping network for Nio users and improve the users’ experience, while collaborating with partners to launch the construction of a shared battery swapping network.”

Eric Li, founder and chairman of Geely Holding, added: “As one of the most innovative methods for recharging electric vehicles, the future development of battery swapping technology requires the joint efforts of all parties in the industry to advance it. Geely’s Yiyi Power has already achieved good results in many cities and continues to expand across the country. Through this strategic cooperation in battery swapping, the two parties will strengthen their cooperation in the battery swapping industry chain, accelerate the adoption of unified standards, expand the ecosystem for battery swapping and charging, support the low-carbon transformation and high-quality development of the automotive industry, and offer a better electric mobility experience for users.”

The agreement with Geely marks the second company to join Nio’s Battery Swap technology after the deal signed with Changan Auto late November.

Similar to the agreement with Geely, Nio and Changan will work to jointly facilitate the formulation of standards for swappable batteries, build and share the battery swapping network, develop swappable vehicles, and establish an efficient battery asset management mechanism.