NIO Stock Rises Overnight After 6-Week Losing Streak: Retail Bulls See ‘Real Money’ In Battery Swaps After Holiday Record Usage

Nio had added 482 swap stations this year as of Friday, leaving 518 to meet its 2026 expansion target.

• Nio completed a record 183,469 battery swaps on Oct.1, exceeding its previous daily high by 4.3%.
• Geely will take a 30% stake in Nio Power under an agreement valuing the business at about $2.4 billion.
• September deliveries reached 37,408, while Q3 deliveries totaled 109,178, meeting guidance.

U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) rose 1% overnight heading into Monday after six consecutive weekly declines as record holiday battery-swapping activity drew retail attention to the company’s energy infrastructure business.

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares fell 1% on Friday to close at $3.37, ending the week down 6%. 

Nio’s Battery Swaps Hit Holiday High

Nio completed 183,469 battery swaps on Oct. 1, its highest single-day total, EV noted. China’s National Day travel rush pushed daily swaps about 4.3% above Nio’s previous record, set during February’s Lunar New Year holiday.

Across the network, the Oct. 1 total meant a vehicle left a swap station every 0.47 seconds. “For long-distance driving, swapping is the first choice,” Nio apparently said in its app announcement. The usage milestone puts Nio’s infrastructure ambitions in focus. Geely Holding Group will take a 30% stake in Nio Power under an agreement valuing the charging and swapping business at about 16 billion yuan ($2.4 billion).

Nio’s network map showed 4,158 swap stations in China on Friday, including 1,070 highway locations, with cumulative swaps exceeding 126 million. The company aims to reach 10,000 stations by 2030.

Nio had added 482 swap stations this year as of Friday, leaving 518 more to reach its target of 1,000 additions in 2026. September brought 94 openings, its strongest monthly expansion this year, but meeting the annual goal still requires a substantially faster fourth-quarter pace.

“For this year, we still plan to build 1,000 new power swap stations,” CFO Stanley Qu said on the September earnings call. He added that newly built infrastructure would be “sponsored or funded by our Power Up partners.” 

Nio Meets Q3 Guidance As Firefly Shines

Nio delivered 37,408 vehicles in September, up 8% annually and 4% from August. Third-quarter deliveries reached 109,178, up 25% from a year earlier and within its guidance range of 108,000 to 111,000.

September’s total comprised 21,318 Nio-brand vehicles, 8,763 Onvo vehicles and a record 7,327 Firefly vehicles. Deliveries across the company reached 300,301 through September, up 49.2% annually. Nio’s Firefly accounted for nearly 94% of September’s increase over August, according to CnEVPost. Its growth helped offset weakness at Onvo, where deliveries fell about 43% from a year earlier.

The ES8 was another sales pillar, delivering 10,542 vehicles in September and exceeding 10,000 for a third consecutive month. The SUV accounted for nearly half of Nio-brand deliveries that month.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About NIO?

On Stocktwits, sentiment for NIO rose to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ levels a week ago amid ‘normal’ message volumes as traders debated whether growing swap usage and Geely’s involvement could translate into stronger financial performance.

One user said, “While everyone in North America is glued on Delivery numbers !!! The 1 percenters focus on the real money !! Battery swap and energy supply!!!!” Another user said, “battery swap model is being secured in China and can flourish.”

A third user highlighted “records broken on Battery Swaps during the Chinese Oct holidays,” reflecting bullish interest in network usage. However, another user questioned the economics, saying the current structure produced “Only endless investment and continued losses.”

Nio’s U.S.-listed stock has declined 34% year-to-date.

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