In-Depth Analysis Report on the Profit Model of NIO (NIO) Battery Swap Stations

Based on the data collected above, I now present an in-depth analysis report on the profit model of NIO’s battery swap stations.

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NIO’s proprietary “Chargeable, Swappable, Upgradable” energy service system is one of its core competitive strengths. As of the end of 2024, NIO has built a total of

, covering more than 90% of China’s districts and counties, forming the world’s largest expressway battery swap network [0][1]. As of December 2025, NIO has built a total of across China, and plans to further accelerate the deployment of 5th-generation battery swap stations in 2026 [1].

Metric	Value	Unit
Total Number of Battery Swap Stations (end of 2024)	2,300	stations
Actual Average Daily Service Volume per Station	32	times
Break-Even Average Daily Service Volume	50	times
Battery Swap Business Loss (2024)	31.2	RMB 100 million
Cumulative Investment in Charging and Swapping	~180	RMB 100 million

The current average daily service volume per station is 32 times, which is 18 times short of the break-even threshold of 50 times, resulting in losses in the battery swap business [0][1].

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According to industry research data, the cost of battery swap stations consists of two parts:

and [2]:

Cost Item	Estimated Proportion	Description
Battery Cost	30-35%	Additional reserve batteries, requiring high purchase or lease costs paid to battery manufacturers
Equipment Purchase	25-28%	Charging and battery swap equipment, with a depreciation period of 5-8 years
Site Lease	10-12%	Rent for battery swap station land
Land Cost	5-10%	Cost of self-owned land for some stations
Construction Cost	5-8%	Infrastructure construction
Other	4%	Supporting facilities, etc.

Approximately RMB 3-5 million [0][2]

Cost Item	Estimated Proportion	Description
Electricity Cost	15-20%	Cost of purchasing electricity for user supply
Operation and Maintenance Staff	5-10%	Daily operation and maintenance personnel
Equipment Maintenance	5-8%	Regular equipment maintenance
Battery Depreciation	Included in investment costs	Battery asset wear and tear

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NIO’s battery swap stations have built a

, which mainly includes the following five core sources:

Charging Model	Pricing Rules	Description
Single-Time Charge	RMB 0.9-0.98/kWh	Charged based on the amount of electricity swapped, including electricity fee + service fee
Annual Package	RMB 10,800/year	Includes 15 monthly battery swap services
Monthly Package	RMB 980/month	Includes 15 monthly battery swap services
Free Battery Swaps	Limited to early users	Users who paid a deposit before October 11, 2020

Battery swap fee = electricity swapped (electricity fee + service fee); the amount of electricity swapped is the difference in power between the two batteries before and after swapping; the electricity fee is the local electricity price at the battery swap station; the service fee is priced slightly higher than that of operating fast charging piles around the battery swap station [2].

Battery Type	Original Rent	Adjusted Rent	Direct Car Price Reduction
Standard Range Battery (75kWh)	RMB 980/month	RMB 728/month	RMB 70,000
Long Range Battery (100kWh+)	RMB 1,680/month	RMB 1,128/month	RMB 128,000

• Significantly lower car purchase threshold: The starting price of the LeDao L60 is only RMB 149,900 after adopting the BaaS plan [3][4]
• Users “buy the car but not the battery”, so they do not need to bear battery safety and quality risks
• Avoid battery inspection and replacement costs brought by the “New Regulation” implemented in March 2026 (battery replacement costs for some new energy vehicles range from RMB 50,000 to 230,000) [4]

NIO provides a

, allowing users to choose batteries of different capacities according to their needs:

• Flexible switching between standard range and long range
• The 150kWh ultra-long range battery pack (1,000km range) was launched with BaaS 3.0 in April 2025 [5]

Leveraging the energy storage attribute of battery swap stations, charge during off-peak electricity price periods and swap batteries during peak periods to obtain

.

Service Type	Charging Standard
One-Click Power Service	Charged per time for swaps exceeding the package quota
Battery Flexible Upgrade Fee	Charged based on usage duration
Cross-Brand Battery Swap Service	Service fee revenue after future opening

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According to financial data, NIO’s battery swap business

in 2024, with a cumulative investment of approximately RMB 18 billion in charging and swapping technology and infrastructure [0][1]. The company as a whole is still in a loss-making state:

• Net Loss in Q3 2025:
  Approximately USD 930 million [6]
• Gross Margin:
  13.9% (Q3 2025), a three-year high [6]
• Operating Loss Rate:
  Continuously narrowing, with a month-on-month decline of over 30% in Q3 2025 [6]

Calculations are based on a single station:

Daily Average Battery Swap Times	Daily Revenue (RMB)	Daily Cost (RMB)	Daily Profit/Loss (RMB)	Annual Profit/Loss (RMB 10,000)
20	1,600	3,000	-1,400	-17.0
30	2,400	3,000	-600	-7.2
37.5	3,000	3,000	0	0 (Break-Even)
40	3,200	3,000	+200	+2.4
50	4,000	3,000	+1,000	+12.0
60	4,800	3,000	+1,800	+21.6
70	5,600	3,000	+2,600	+31.2

Under the current cost structure, a single station needs to achieve to reach break-even, while the actual operation only has 32 times, leaving a gap of approximately 18% [0][2].

Cause	Impact Degree
Insufficient Utilization Rate	32 daily average times < 50 break-even times
Heavy Asset Investment	Single station construction cost of RMB 3-5 million
High Battery Cost	Batteries account for 30-35% of investment costs
Network Expansion Period	Continuous new station construction increases depreciation and amortization
User Scale	Vehicle ownership has not yet formed scale effects

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Strategy	Specific Measures	Expected Effect
Accelerate County Coverage	Cover 2,300 county-level administrative regions by 2025	Expand reach to potential users
Expressway Network Densification	Optimize the world’s largest expressway battery swap network	Increase battery swap frequency for long-distance travel
Cross-Brand Opening	Cooperate with CATL and others to promote standard unification	Increase third-party users

Optimization Direction	Specific Measures
Equipment Iteration	4th/5th-generation battery swap stations improve efficiency
Battery Life Extension	15-year long-life power battery solution
Operating Efficiency Improvement	Automated operation and maintenance reduce labor costs
Scale Effect	Fixed costs are diluted as sales volume grows

Growth Driver	Strategic Initiatives
BaaS User Growth	Competitiveness improved after price cut in March 2025
LeDao/Firefly Brands	Expand user base (2025 sales target: 440,000-450,000 units) [6]
Battery Asset Management	Refined operation extends battery life cycle
Third-Party Cooperation	Expand B-side business with CATL, car rental companies, etc.

Key cooperation of NIO in the battery swap field in 2025:

Time	Partner	Cooperation Content
March 2025	CATL	Jointly build the world’s largest battery swap network and promote industry standard unification
April 2025	Multiple Automakers	Jointly released 10 new chocolate battery swap models with CATL
August 2025	CAR Inc.	Deploy more than 100,000 battery swap vehicles and build a battery swap network
November 2025	JD.com, GAC Group	Launched the Aion UT Super battery swap model priced at RMB 49,900 [1]

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Enterprise	Model	Covered Stations	Features
NIO	Mainly To C	3,665 stations (end of 2025)	Exclusive to own brand, user experience first
Aulton New Energy	Third-Party Platform	521 stations (H1 2025)	Largest independent third-party battery swap provider, covering 130,000 registered vehicles
CATL	Chocolate Battery Swap	1,000 stations target (2025)	Standardized batteries, cross-brand compatible

Indicator	2024	2030	Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
Battery Swap Vehicle Sales	269,000 units	1.138 million units	27.1%
Number of Battery Swap Stations	4,400 stations	24,000 stations	32.5%

According to forecasts from CIC Consulting, the battery swap industry is in a period of rapid growth, and NIO is expected to benefit from market expansion due to its first-mover advantage [1].

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Factor	Analysis
Sales Growth Driver	2025 sales target of 440,000-450,000 units, double that of 2024
Gross Margin Improvement	Gross margin of 13.9% in Q3 2025, a three-year high
Narrowing Losses	Operating loss rate decreased by over 30% month-on-month
Policy Support	The state has clearly included battery swapping in the key areas for improving charging facility service capabilities
Ecological Opening	Cross-brand cooperation expands potential revenue sources

Risk	Explanation
Continuous Loss Risk	The battery swap business is difficult to make profits in the short term and requires continuous capital investment
Cash Flow Pressure	Cumulative investment of RMB 18 billion, with huge capital expenditure
Intensified Competition	CATL, Geely, etc. are accelerating their layout in the battery swap track
Standard Unification Risk	Industry standards have not yet been fully unified, and cross-brand compatibility still takes time
Technology Iteration Risk	Continuous investment is required in the R&D of new-generation battery swap stations

Indicator	Expectation
Consensus Target Price	USD 7.00 (current price: USD 4.71) [0]
Rating Distribution	Buy: 47.8%, Hold: 43.5%, Sell: 8.7%
Profit Target	Achieve operational profitability in Q4 2025

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1. Current Status:
   NIO’s battery swap station business is in a
   strategic loss
   stage, with a loss of RMB 3.12 billion in the battery swap business in 2024, and the daily average utilization rate of 32 times is lower than the break-even threshold of 50 times [0][1].

2. Profit Path:
   Profitability needs to be achieved through three paths:
   increase utilization rate through sales growth
   ,
   dilute costs through scale effects
   , and
   expand revenue through BaaS services
   , which is expected to take 2-3 years.

3. Strategic Value:
   Battery swap stations are core infrastructure for NIO to build an
   intelligent electric vehicle ecosystem
   . Although they are in short-term losses, they form a long-term competitive barrier.

4. Industry Trend:
   The battery swap industry has strong policy support. The number of battery swap stations is expected to reach 24,000 by 2030, and NIO is expected to benefit from its first-mover advantage [1].

Time Node	Key Milestones
Q4 2025	Achieve operational break-even (company target)
2026	Achieve full coverage of battery swap stations in county-level administrative regions across China
2026-2027	Battery swap network covers major urban agglomerations and trunk logistics channels
2030	Number of battery swap stations reaches 24,000, and industry scale effects emerge

NIO’s battery swap station business represents a

business model innovation. Although it faces short-term profit pressure, the full-scenario energy replenishment ecosystem it has built is reshaping the competitive landscape of the new energy vehicle industry. With the growth of sales volume, deepening of cross-brand cooperation, and unification of industry standards, NIO’s battery swap business is expected to transform from a “cost center” to a “profit engine”.

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[0] Jinling API Data - NIO (NIO) Company Profile and Financial Analysis

[1] The Paper - Battery Swap Industry 2025: Ecological Restructuring, Booming Supply and Demand (https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32310352)

[2] Eastmoney.com - Sensitivity Analysis of Battery Swap Station Cost Breakdown and Operating Revenue (https://pdf.dfcfw.com/pdf/H3_AP202207241576497196_1.pdf)

[3] NIO Official Website - NIO Launches New BaaS Battery Leasing Service Policy (https://www.nio.cn/news/20240314002)

[4] 21st Century Business Herald - NIO Challenges the Million-Unit Club: 600,000-Unit Milestone and RMB 600 Million Power Replenishment Subsidy (http://www.21jingji.com/article/20241015/herald/2926f17e43d21181653a1c6343bd9d62.html)

[5] Yahoo Finance - Battery as a Service (BaaS) Market to Reach USD 11.20 Billion (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/battery-baas-market-reach-usd-150100757.html)

[6] NIO Investor Relations - NIO Inc. Reports Unaudited Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results (https://ir.nio.com/node/11451/pdf)

[7] Sina Finance - Financial Report Analysis of NIO: Battery Swap Model Affects Profits, Q2 Revenue Expected to Grow 13% (https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/hk/2025-09-03/doc-infpewap2859927.shtml)

[8] Future Think Tank - 2025 NIO Research Report: Full Price Range Layout in the Pure Electric Market (https://www.vzkoo.com/read/202502272161e1871fba977fedb7d849.html)