Nio Plans Mobile EV Battery Charging Service
Shanghai-based electric vehicle startup Nio Inc. is introducing a service for owners of electric cars that will pick up their vehicle, take it away to be charged and return it.
#hybrid
Shanghai-based electric vehicle startup Nio Inc. is introducing a service for owners of electric cars that will pick up their vehicle, take it away to be charged and return it.
Customers will use China’s popular WeChat messaging smartphone app enter their vehicle’s location, China’s Xinhua News says.
The Nio Charging service will pick up the vehicle and return it to the same location a few hours later, fully charged, for 280 yuan ($42) per service call.
Nio CEO William Li tells reporters at the Shanghai auto show the service aims to ease “charging anxiety” among Chinese car owners throughout the country. He did not indicate when Nio Charging will launch or how many vehicles he predicts it will serve.
EV sales are booming, thanks to hefty government incentives. But China, like other expanding markets for electric vehicles, is scrambling to build a network of high-speed charging facilities to support them.
RELATED CONTENT
-
On Ford Maverick, Toyota Tundra Hybrid, and GM's Factory Footprint
GM is transforming its approach to the auto market—and its factories. Ford builds a small truck for the urban market. Toyota builds a full-size pickup and uses a hybrid instead of a diesel. And Faurecia thinks that hydrogen is where the industry is going.
-
On Traffic Jams, Vehicle Size, Building EVs and more
From building electric vehicles—and training to do so—to considering traffic and its implication on drivers and vehicle size—there are plenty of considerations for people and their utilization of technology in the industry.
-
Special Report: Toyota & Issues Electric
Although Toyota’s focus on hybrid powertrains at the seeming expense of the development of a portfolio of full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for the market could cause some concern among those of an environmental orientation, in that Toyota doesn’t seem to be sufficiently supportive of the environment, in their estimation. Here’s something that could cause a reconsideration of that point of view.