On September 26, 2026, the Power UP 2026 NIO Battery Swap Day was held between Dushanzi and Khorgos in Xinjiang, featuring battery swaps along the entire route.
With the launch of NIO's 4,125th battery swap station at Sayram Lake, the NIO-SW (09866) Silk Road battery swap route officially became fully connected. The route runs from Xi'an in Shaanxi Province in the east to Khorgos in Xinjiang in the west, spanning 3,605 kilometers, with 33 NIO battery swap stations deployed along the way. With the route now fully connected, users can depart from any battery swap station nationwide and travel the entire distance using battery swaps to reach every provincial-level administrative region in mainland China.
The completion of the NIO Silk Road battery swap route also marks the full battery swap connectivity of China's longest expressway, the G30 Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway. As the core carrier of the Silk Road battery swap route, the G30 Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway runs through the northwest with a total length of 4,395 kilometers, featuring 43 NIO battery swap stations along its path. When NIO Inc. and NIO Inc. USD OV (ONVO) users drive across China's longest expressway, they can enjoy battery swaps without interruption, experiencing the same convenience as refueling.
To date, NIO-SW (09866) has built 1,063 highway battery swap stations across the country, forming a "9 vertical, 11 horizontal, 16 major city clusters" highway battery swap network covering more than 550 cities nationwide, declaring an end to range anxiety for NIO Inc. and ONVO users on highways. The completion of the Silk Road battery swap route was preceded by days of inspection and assessment by NIO Inc.
From September 23 to 24, NIO Inc. co-founder and President Qin Lihong departed from Dunhuang, the endpoint of the Hexi Corridor section of the Silk Road battery swap route, witnessing the commissioning of two NIO Inc. battery swap stations at the Xingxingxia Service Area and Tiziquan Service Area along the G30 Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway. The NIO Inc. battery swap station at Xingxingxia Service Area is the world's first zero-carbon off-grid photovoltaic energy storage battery swap station, overcoming hundreds of kilometers of uninhabited terrain and using solar power as its sole energy source to achieve 24-hour operation, making users' first stop upon entering Xinjiang more reassuring.
From September 25 to 26, NIO Inc. founder, Chairman, and CEO Li Bin, along with NIO Inc. co-founder and President Qin Lihong and their delegation, departed from Urumqi and drove all the way to Khorgos Port using battery swaps for an inspection. On September 26, Li Bin launched a livestream for the Silk Road battery swap route completion and Power UP 2026 NIO Inc. Battery Swap Day, visiting NIO Inc. battery swap stations and highway service areas along the route, witnessing the completion of the Silk Road battery swap route and ensuring that reliable battery swap service would be available throughout the upcoming National Day holiday.
At the completion ceremony by Sayram Lake, NIO Inc. CFO and head of NIO Inc. Energy Qu Yu shared the latest layout of NIO Inc.'s charging and battery swap network, progress on the highway battery swap network, and the development of power-up scenic routes. By the end of 2026, a total of 100 power-up scenic routes will have been built, with NIO Inc. charging and battery swap facilities installed along beloved self-driving routes such as the Southern Xinjiang Western Pole Route, the 331 Northern Border Route, the Ali North Route, and the Sichuan-Tibet North Route, making powering up as convenient as refueling.
Li Bin stated during the livestream that the Silk Road is not only a major corridor for culture, tourism, and commerce but also an important scenario for testing the pure electric long-distance travel experience. He expressed confidence that with the Silk Road battery swap route now open, the Xi'an-to-Khorgos trunk line will interconnect with the broader network, allowing users to travel the entire Hexi Corridor and deep into Xinjiang using battery swaps, and to reach every provincial-level administrative region in mainland China entirely via battery swaps, further enhancing the accessibility, certainty, and convenience of pure electric long-distance travel.
On the same day, ONVO officially announced its partnership with Sayram Lake tourism. NIO Inc. Senior Vice President and ONVO President Shen Fei delivered the brand's flagship model, the ONVO L90 "Starlight Gold Radiance Design Package," to the Sayram Lake scenic area as an official vehicle. Through this deep collaboration, ONVO owners can enjoy exclusive discounts on accommodation, dining, wedding photography, travel photography, and cultural merchandise at Sayram Lake. Newlyweds who register their marriage at the Sayram Lake Marriage Registration Center can also enjoy 3 months of free battery swaps (12 battery swap vouchers), with specific benefits detailed in ONVO's official announcements. ONVO and Sayram Lake tourism have co-created a new "automotive + cultural tourism" partnership model, deepening integration around tourism activities and scenario co-creation, opening a new path for mutual empowerment between the automotive and cultural tourism industries.
As of September 26, 2026, NIO-SW (09866) has deployed a total of 9,431 charging and battery swap stations nationwide, including 4,125 battery swap stations and 5,306 charging stations, ranking first in the industry for charging and battery swap infrastructure. The construction of NIO-SW (09866)'s charging and battery swap network has formed a scaled network effect, delivering users the differentiated experience advantage of "powering up as convenient as refueling," and has become an important driver of the company's product sales growth. The improvement of charging and battery swap facilities, combined with enhanced product strength, has created a synergistic effect that is accelerating the explosion of the pure electric market. Pure electric large three-row SUVs have ranked first among all powertrain types for 7 consecutive months and surpassed extended-range vehicles for 12 consecutive months. The all-new ES8, on its first anniversary of launch, has accumulated 150,000 deliveries, firmly holding the top spot in the large SUV and 400,000-yuan-class market. The ES9 has surpassed 30,000 deliveries, ranking first in the 500,000-yuan-class pure electric segment for three consecutive months. The ONVO L90, one year after launch, has delivered over 60,000 units, firmly holding the sales crown in the 300,000-yuan-class pure electric large SUV segment.
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