Nio customers who wish to upgrade their battery packs can choose to do so either permanently, or on an annual or monthly basis.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio's models support battery swap, which allows owners of small-capacity battery models to replace their batteries with larger ones. The company offers services to facilitate this, and now it has released data on the number of users who have experienced them.

To date, a total of more than 8,700 customers in China have opted for the battery flexibility upgrade, Nio said today.

Nio's flexible battery upgrade service allows users to upgrade their batteries on a monthly and annual basis, providing a lower-cost, high-capacity battery experience for their personalized travel, Nio said.

During the Chinese New Year holiday from January 31 to February 6, a total of 7,326 customers experienced a longer battery life with the service, it said.

Of those who upgraded their batteries on a monthly basis, 94 percent chose to place their orders before the Chinese New Year holiday, with January 15 being the day with the most such orders, according to Nio.

Nio's flexible battery upgrade service was most popular among users in Shanghai, Chengdu and Suzhou, the company said.

On December 5 last year, Nio announced that the monthly temporary battery pack upgrade service became available to all customers after a previous pilot in a few cities.

As of now, Nio customers who wish to upgrade their battery packs can choose to do so either permanently or on an annual or monthly basis.

Nio's battery packs currently include a standard range version with 70-kWh or 75-kWh capacity, and a long-range version with 100-kWh capacity.

Since its 150-kWh pack is still not available, the only customers who can upgrade their packs are those of the standard range models.

If they choose to upgrade to the 100-kWh pack on a monthly basis, the cost will be RMB 880 ($138) per month. If they upgrade to the 100-kWh pack on an annual basis, the cost will be RMB 7,980 per year.

The option to upgrade the battery is the same whether or not the customer purchases the car using Nio's BaaS battery rental service.

By the end of January, Nio had delivered a cumulative 176,722 vehicles since its inception, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.