For EV owners, few things are more frustrating than range anxiety. But NIO has a brilliant solution that could help banish those dreaded “gonna run outta juice” concerns for good – daily rentals of its beastly 150kWh extended-range battery pack.
That’s right, starting June 1st, owners of NIO’s more modest battery configurations can rent out the massive 150kWh pack to supersize their EV’s range for daily jaunts or even longer road trips. All they need to do is fire up the NIO app, select their desired rental period, and schedule a quick battery swap at one of the company’s service stations.
The pricing structure makes upgrading to those epic 150kWh cells an enticing short-term proposition too. Owners currently running the 100kWh battery pack can make the jump to ultra-range for just 100 RMB (around $14 USD) per day for the first week. Even folks stuck with NIO’s relatively pokey 75kWh pack only pay 150 RMB ($21) daily to experience that sweet, sweet extended-range goodness.
After the first seven days, there’s a modest 50 RMB per day surcharge tacked on. But you gotta admit, having the ability to tap into an estimated 500-plus mile range battery whenever you need it is a brilliant solution to the EV range quandary.
Granted, swapping physical battery packs requires a bit more hassle than your typical quick recharge at a public station or home charger. But NIO’s automated system makes the whole swap process relatively seamless once you arrive. Just tap the app to get in the queue.
When your big battery upgrade is up, simply roll up to the swap bay, let NIO’s machines work their magic, and you’ll be back on the road and cruising in ultra-range splendor. No muss, no fuss – just on-demand access to epic range exactly when and where you need it most.
For urbanites who rarely need more than 200 or 300 miles of range day-to-day, the ability to size down to NIO’s smaller battery packs could yield significant upfront cost savings. Then on those occasional long-haul journeys, the daily rental gives you a brilliantly simple way to quickly upsize to extended range without having to shell out for it 24/7.
NIO bringing its worldwide total to a staggering 2,411 locations, also tacked on 292 charging piles, pushing its network to over 22,000 piles across China.
It’s an ingenious display of flexibility that makes NIO’s whole battery-swapping ecosystem feel way ahead of the curve. At a time when most EVs remain chains to their single battery configuration, this sort of a la carte range upgrading could be the killer app to convince range-phobic buyers to finally go electric.