Nio Stock Already Outruns Last Year’s Gains — Now A Massive Battery-Swap Push Is Coming Into Spotlight

• NIO shares are on track for their best run since 2020, when shares surged more than 1,100%.
• CEO William Li expects vehicle deliveries to grow 40%-50% this year, supported by momentum from its strong Q1 and revamped ES8.
• Pre-sales of the flagship ES9 SUV are underway, extending Nio’s premium SUV strategy with advanced in-house driving tech and long-range capability.

U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) have already outpaced last year’s rally just months into 2026, and investors are now turning their attention to the EV maker’s next big catalyst: a back-loaded rollout of hundreds of new battery-swap stations expected later this year.

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares have risen 35% so far this year, already surpassing their 17% gain in 2025 and putting the stock on track for its strongest annual run since 2020, when shares surged more than 1,100%.

Nio’s Energy Infrastructure Push Takes Shape

Fresh updates from a Chinese auto blogger, whose analysis was based on Nio’s stated annual target of adding over 1,000 swap stations this year and a rollout pace of more than 150 stations per month from October to December, suggest that nearly half of the company’s planned 2026 battery-swap stations could be deployed in the final quarter alone, according to a report by EV.

Pilot deployment of fifth-generation stations is expected between June and early July, followed by a nationwide rollout beginning in August, with acceleration to over 100 stations per month starting in September.

Nio was reportedly identified as the primary target of BYD’s ultra-fast-charging battery tech, underscoring the rising competition in China’s EV energy market.

As of mid-April, progress stood at 11.8% of the annual deployment target. The fifth-generation network is a key upgrade, as the stations will support smaller battery packs used by the company’s Firefly sub-brand and are expected to become the first to be compatible with vehicles from external brands.

Since launching its first swap station in 2018, Nio has completed nearly 108 million battery swaps and now operates 3,794 stations across China.

CEO Delivery Outlook Boosts NIO Momentum

The stock’s rapid growth so far this year was also pushed by CEO William Li’s confidence in meeting the EV maker’s full-year delivery target, saying Nio has entered its “third stage of development” since the second half of last year.

He expects vehicle deliveries to grow by 40% to 50% this year, following a 98.3% year-over-year increase in the first quarter.

Momentum has further been supported by continued strength in the revamped ES8 lineup. The third-generation ES8 recorded 16,255 retail sales in March and remained the top-selling vehicle in China priced above 400,000 yuan for four straight months. The model hit 90,000 deliveries within just 195 days.

ES9 Launch Anchors Premium Growth Push

Alongside delivery momentum, Nio has begun pre-sales of its flagship ES9 sport-utility vehicle, priced from 528,000 yuan ($77,230), about 31% lower than the ET9 sedan with similar technology.

The pricing strategy mirrors the rollout approach used with the third-generation ES8, which became the company’s best-selling model in recent months despite its premium positioning. The ES9 is expected to launch officially in late May, with deliveries beginning June 1.

The vehicle includes the company’s in-house Shenji NX9031 autonomous-driving chip, SkyRide chassis system, and a 102-kilowatt-hour battery pack capable of delivering up to 620 kilometers of range.

Nio said the large interior space and ride comfort of the ES9 are the main reasons for prioritizing SUV development over entering the multipurpose-vehicle segment, with CEO William Li saying at the model’s tech launch event that the vehicle is spacious enough that consumers can “forget about MPVs.”

NIO Profitability Milestone Boosts Investor Confidence

Investor sentiment also got a major boost after Nio reported its first-ever quarterly net profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by record vehicle deliveries and stronger margins. Net profit totaled 122.4 million yuan for the three months ended December, compared with a net loss of 7.13 billion yuan a year earlier.

Nio said a more favorable product mix helped lift fourth-quarter gross margin to 17.5% from 11.7% a year earlier, marking one of the clearest signs yet that the company’s long-running investments in its premium models and battery-swapping ecosystem are beginning to reflect in its financial performance.

How Do Retail Traders Feel About Nio?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Nio jumped to ‘bullish’ from ‘neutral’ levels a day ago amid a 180% jump in 24-hour message volumes. 

One user said, “Just wait until China enforces the whole country to go to battery swapping.”

Another user said, “Time for this beast to hit all-time highs. Nio is going to be a global player in this EV race, unlike every other car company; Nio owns the cars and the gas stations. What other car manufacturer owns the utility? This is a cash cow in the making. Each month 40,000 new customers enter nio’s battery swapping network. It’s compounding rapidly.”

U.S.-listed shares of Nio have surged 95% over the past year. 

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