Nio — The Chinese Electric Car Maker Built Around Battery Swapping
Nio is a Chinese maker of electric cars, founded in Shanghai in November 2014 by the internet entrepreneur William Li. It started as NextEV, won the 2015 Formula E drivers' title, and launched its brand in London in 2016 with the EP9 electric supercar. Its road cars, from the ES8 SUV of 2018 to the ET5 saloon and the ET9, share one idea: batteries that can be swapped at the company's own stations. In 2024 and 2025 the company added two lower-priced brands, Onvo and Firefly.
Key takeaways
- Founded in November 2014 in Shanghai as NextEV by William Li, founder of the car portal Bitauto.
- The NextEV team won the 2015 Formula E drivers' championship with Nelson Piquet Jr.
- The first battery swap station opened in Shenzhen in May 2018; by July 2026 there were 3,989 stations and more than 119 million swaps.
- Deliveries rose from 11,348 in 2018 to 326,028 in 2025 across the Nio, Onvo and Firefly brands.
Nio at a glance
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | November 2014, Shanghai (as NextEV) |
| Founder | William Li (Li Bin), born 1974 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai; main operations in Hefei (NIO China) |
| Production | Hefei, in former JAC plants bought in December 2023 |
| Brands | Nio, Onvo (2024), Firefly (2025) |
| Key technology | Battery swapping, Battery as a Service (since 2020) |
| Stock listing | New York Stock Exchange, since September 2018 |
| Deliveries 2025 | 326,028 |
Origins: NextEV and Formula E
William Li, born in 1974, made his name and money with Bitauto, an online car information company he founded in 2000 and sold in 2013. In November 2014 he co-founded NextEV in Shanghai to develop electric cars.
Before it had a road car, the company went racing. Its team, originally Team China Racing, competed in Formula E. In 2015 Nelson Piquet Jr. won the drivers' championship for it, with victories including Long Beach, and the team was fourth in the constructors' standings. In 2016 NextEV renamed itself Nio.
The brand was launched on 21 November 2016 at the Saatchi Gallery in London with the EP9, a track-only electric supercar with one motor at each wheel. Each produced 250 kW, for a total of 1 MW (1,360 PS). The EP9 set lap records for electric cars at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the Circuit of the Americas (2:11.30), the Shanghai International Circuit and Circuit Paul Ricard. It also set an autonomous lap record at the Circuit of the Americas. Six were built for Nio's investors.
The ES8 and the first road cars
The first production model, the ES8, was unveiled in December 2017 and entered production in June 2018. It was an SUV whose body and chassis are about 96% aluminium, with swappable batteries of 70 or 84 kWh, later 100 kWh. The revised first-generation car had two motors with 160 kW and 240 kW.
More models followed in a steady rhythm. The ES6 was announced in December 2018 and delivered from June 2019, the EC6 coupé-SUV came in December 2019 and the ET7 saloon in January 2021. Next was the smaller Nio ET5, revealed at Nio Day in Suzhou on 18 December 2021 and on sale from September 2022. The ET5 has two motors with a combined 358 kW (487 PS) and batteries of 75 or 100 kWh. A 150 kWh semi-solid-state pack can be rented at swap stations, and the ET5 Touring estate followed on 16 June 2023.
Nio's cars were built at first by the partner JAC in Hefei; in December 2023 Nio received its own production licence and bought the JAC factories for 3.2 billion yuan. The partner's own story is told in the history of JAC Motors.
Battery swapping and Battery as a Service
Nio's best-known idea is the battery swap. Instead of waiting at a charger, a driver pulls into a Nio Power station where the car's battery is exchanged for a charged one. The first station opened in Shenzhen in May 2018, and a chain of 18 stations along the G4 expressway was finished in November 2018. The network grew to 1,305 stations by December 2022 and 3,989 by July 2026, with more than 119 million swaps in total.
In August 2020 Nio introduced Battery as a Service, which takes the battery out of the purchase price and lowered the cost of buying a car by roughly 25%.
The 2020 crisis and Europe
Nio listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2018, raising about US$1 billion at US$6.26 per American depositary share in 2018, less than the US$1.8 billion first sought. The following year was difficult: in 2019 Nio said a planned Shanghai factory would never be built, and by 2020 its shares had fallen 62% since the listing.
The rescue came from Hefei. In 2020 the city government took a 25% stake in the company's main business and helped arrange loans from six local banks. In April 2020 the company raised about US$1 billion from Chinese investors and moved its main assets into NIO China, based in Hefei. Deliveries then grew quickly: 43,728 in 2020, 91,429 in 2021 and 122,486 in 2022.
In May 2021 Nio announced its entry into Europe, starting with deliveries in Norway in September 2021. It opened its first European swap station in Norway in 2022, and in August 2023 it was chosen to supply electric taxis in Oslo.
Onvo, Firefly and Nio today
To reach more buyers, Nio launched a mass-market brand, Onvo, in May 2024; its first model, the L60, was delivered from September 2024. A small-car brand, Firefly, followed in April 2025 in China and in August 2025 in Europe. The flagship ET9 arrived in March 2025, and the third-generation ES8 was launched on 20 September 2025 with 520 kW (707 PS).
In 2025 the group delivered 326,028 vehicles: 178,806 Nio, 107,808 Onvo and 39,414 Firefly. William Li remains chief executive. Electric rivals are compared in the best electric cars list. All models are listed in the Nio catalogue; the former manufacturing partner is in the JAC catalogue. Range leaders are listed in the longest-range electric cars.
Nio timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2014 | NextEV founded in Shanghai (November) |
| 2015 | Formula E drivers' title with Nelson Piquet Jr. |
| 2016 | Renamed Nio; EP9 shown in London (21 November) |
| 2017 | ES8 unveiled |
| 2018 | ES8 production; first swap station; NYSE listing |
| 2020 | Hefei rescue; Battery as a Service |
| 2021 | ET7; entry into Norway; ET5 revealed |
| 2022 | 1,305 swap stations |
| 2023 | Own production licence; JAC plants bought |
| 2024 | Onvo brand and L60 |
| 2025 | Firefly brand; ET9; 326,028 deliveries |
Landmark Nio models
| Model | Years | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| EP9 | 2016 | 1 MW electric supercar, EV lap records |
| ES8 | 2018–present | First Nio road car, swappable battery, aluminium body |
| ES6 | 2019–present | Smaller SUV that broadened the range |
| ET7 | 2021–present | First Nio saloon |
| ET5 / ET5 Touring | 2022–present | Compact saloon and estate; the ET5 Touring sold 50,869 in China in 2024 |
| Onvo L60 | 2024–present | First model of the mass-market Onvo brand |
Photo gallery
FAQ
Who founded Nio?
William Li (Li Bin), who had founded the car website Bitauto in 2000. He co-founded Nio, originally called NextEV, in November 2014 and is its chief executive.
How does Nio battery swapping work?
At a Nio Power station the car's battery is exchanged for a charged one. By July 2026 Nio had 3,989 stations and had carried out more than 119 million swaps.
Is Nio sold in Europe?
Yes. Deliveries in Norway started in September 2021, and the first European swap station opened there in 2022. The Firefly brand reached Europe in August 2025.
What are Onvo and Firefly?
Nio's lower-priced brands: Onvo, a mass-market brand launched in May 2024, and Firefly, a small-car brand launched in April 2025.
Where are Nio cars built?
In Hefei, China, first by the partner JAC and, since December 2023, in former JAC factories owned by Nio.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Nio Inc. (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — William Li (businessman) (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Nio EP9 (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Nio ES8 (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia — Nio ET5 (accessed 24 Oct 2026)
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