is looking to increase the use of its battery upgrade service as owner demand for driving trips increases with the arrival of spring.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) is offering small discounts for a limited time to encourage vehicle owners with standard-range battery packs to upgrade to longer-range packs.

Between March 3 and March 30, owners who choose to upgrade from a 70 kWh/75 kWh standard range battery pack to a 100-kWh long-range pack can use a one-time RMB 200 ($29) coupon at the time of payment, according to the program posted on the Nio App.

All of Nio's vehicles support a simple battery swap, which allows for flexible battery upgrades.

The company currently allows owners to upgrade their standard-range battery pack to a 100-kWh long-range pack on a monthly, annual, or permanent basis.

The upgrade costs RMB 880 per month, and the coupon Nio is currently offering means owners can now experience a long-range pack for one month for RMB 680.

Nio hopes to increase the use of this service as the demand for driving trips increases with the arrival of spring.

Nio's long-range battery packs typically see a significant increase in demand for upgrades before China's major holidays.

From January 13 to January 29, Nio offered 11,681 flexible battery upgrades, according to data released by the company on January 31. January 21 to January 27 was the Chinese New Year holiday.

Nio owners have the option to complete battery upgrades at their nearest battery swap stations if those stations have available long-range packs.

As of February 28, Nio had 1,320 battery swap stations in China, according to data monitored by CnEVPost.

In 2022, more than 50 percent of the power used by Nio customers came from battery swap stations, the company's management said in a March 1 earnings call, adding that battery swap has become the most convenient way for Nio customers to replenish energy.

Nio plans to add 1,000 battery swap stations this year and have a cumulative total of more than 2,300 battery swap stations by the end of 2023, according to its previously announced plans.

($1 = RMB 6.9035)

NIO reveals aggressive plan to add 1,000 swap stations in 2023