Nio completes 250,000th battery swap in Europe

Nio used a fleet event in Hungary on May 18 to pair two messages about its European business: test-drive demand for its vehicles and the scale of its battery-swap network. The Chinese electric-vehicle maker said interest in Nio and Firefly fleet test drives was “outstanding” at the Balaton Park Circuit, where all available slots were booked in advance. The company also said it had completed its 250,000th battery swap in Europe, according to a report by EV news site eletric-vehicles.com. Nio’s own European materials show the company has built one of the region’s largest dedicated swap networks, though its latest chargemap now lists 61 stations rather than 60. ### What exactly did Nio say in Hungary? Nio’s Hungary market LinkedIn page, cited by eletric-vehicles.com, said on May 18 that fleet partners tested the ET5 sedan, EL6 SUV and Firefly model at the Balaton Park Circuit. The post said “all available test drive slots” were fully booked in advance. (eletric-vehicles.com) William Li, Nio’s founder and chief executive, said demand for Nio and Firefly fleet test drives was outstanding, according to the same report. The Hungary event focused on fleet activity rather than a consumer launch, giving Nio a venue to show both its core brand and its smaller Firefly sub-brand to business customers. (eletric-vehicles.com) ### How big is Nio’s battery-swap footprint in Europe? Nio said in an April 29, 2025 release that it had opened its 60th European Power Swap Station in Sankt Augustin, Germany. The company said at the time that its swap stations were operating across Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Nio’s official European chargemap, updated as of May 18, 2026, now shows 61 Power Swap Stations and 27 Nio charging stations with 64 charging points. (eletric-vehicles.com) The same page says Nio has integrated 1.2 million third-party chargers across European markets. ### Why does the 250,000-swap figure matter? The 250,000-swap figure gives one of the clearest public markers of how often Nio’s infrastructure is being used in Europe. (nio.com) Eletric-vehicles.com said Li had cited the milestone earlier this year, and repeated it in its May 18 report on the Hungary fleet event. (chargermap.eu.nio.com) Nio has promoted battery swapping in Europe as both a convenience feature for drivers and a broader energy asset. In a September 2024 company release, Nio said its swap network in Europe was also being used for energy storage and grid services, alongside vehicle operations. ### Where does Firefly fit into the Europe plan? Firefly is Nio’s compact EV brand and is part of the company’s push into lower-priced segments and more markets outside China. (eletric-vehicles.com) Firefly’s official newsroom said in April 2025 that the brand would enter 16 international markets that year, with Europe among the first stops. AutoWallis, Nio’s local distribution partner, said previously that Nio and Firefly sales in Hungary and Austria were expected to begin in the fourth quarter. (nio.com) That gives the Hungary fleet event a near-term commercial context as Nio prepares a broader regional rollout. ### What comes next in Hungary and nearby markets? (firefly.world) AutoWallis said Hungary and Austria were due to be the next two markets to start Nio sales in the fourth quarter, with Romania, Czechia and Poland to follow later. Nio and Firefly said in a June 2025 announcement that they planned expansion into seven additional European markets through local distribution partners. (eletric-vehicles.com) As of May 18, Nio’s official chargemap showed 61 European swap stations, and the company’s next visible milestones are likely to be further station additions and the start of sales activity in Hungary with AutoWallis. (chargermap.eu.nio.com) (eletric-vehicles.com)