Chinese EV maker Nio announced Friday that it is adjusting the free lifetime battery swap benefits for its customers, retracting part of its October decision.

The company announced that consumers who order ES8, ES6, and EC6 from now on can enjoy the following free lifetime battery swap benefits.

Those who choose the exclusive charging pile entitlement will receive four free battery swap services per month.

Those who waive the home charging pile entitlement will have the first 6 battery swap service fees waived each month.

All entitlement adjustments are expected to take effect on March 1.

This policy adjustment is also seen by some users as a move to counter Tesla's price reduction.

For owners of new energy vehicles, mileage anxiety and charging convenience have been major issues for them.

In August 2019, Nio launched the free lifetime battery swap service policy to address users' mileage anxiety and charging convenience.

This service became an important weapon for Nio to attract customers and opened up the market for Nio, which was not selling well at that time.

NIO reduces free battery swap benefits for buyers after Oct 12

As Nio's sales continued to rise, the free battery swap service also put pressure on Nio.

In October 2020, Nio adjusted the battery swap service, for customers who paid the deposit from October 12, 2020, they could enjoy the first 6 battery swaps per month free of charge for service fees but they need to pay the electricity fee if they choose the exclusive charging pile. From the 7th battery swap service onwards, Nio will charge all fees in full. For those who give up their exclusive charging pile rights, the first 6 battery swaps per month will not be charged.

Now 3 months after that time, Nio again announced the adjustment of battery swap service and said that customers who paid the deposit between October 12, 2020, and January 21, 2021 (including those who have already picked up the car) can keep the original battery swap benefits or upgrade to the latest benefits.

This change changes the policy from one that included an exclusive charging pile with increased speed and a free service fee for six monthly battery swaps to one that includes an exclusive charging pile and four free monthly battery swaps, with no other changes.

Nio said that as of January 21, 2021, it has 179 battery swap stations, 101 Superchargers, 820 superchargers, and access to more than 360,000 third-party charging piles.

Nio customers enjoy free lifetime off-site recharge service and 12 free annual off-site recharge services.

On January 1, 2021, Tesla announced that the price of China-made Model Y was reduced by more than 100,000 RMB compared with the imported model, and Nio, which is regarded as the "Chinese version of Tesla", was considered to be facing severe competitive pressure.

In response, William Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Nio, said in an interview that what Tesla is doing may not be suitable for Nio. Car companies need to consider whether the product and service experience can match the corresponding price, and also need to consider the user value and target customer base.

On January 9, Nio released its first sedan, ET7, and announced that the car can be equipped with a 150kWh battery pack through battery swap technology, with a maximum NEDC range of 1000km. the battery is expected to be delivered to users in the fourth quarter of 2022.

In the face of Tesla's price war, Nio made adjustments from battery swap service to increase user rights, and this move is also seen as Nio's move to counter Tesla's price reduction.

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(Source: cnEVpost)