Synopsis Nio will build 400 battery-swapping stations along highways and 600 in urban areas with a focus on the country's third- and fourth-tier cities and counties, Li said in a post on Nio's social media platform. ETtech Chinese electric vehicle ( EV ) startup Nio Inc plans to build 1,000 battery-swapping stations in China in 2023 to bring the total number of such facilities to 2,300 by year-end, its Founder and Chairman William Li said on Tuesday. Nio will build 400 battery-swapping stations along highways and 600 in urban areas with a focus on the country's third- and fourth-tier cities and counties, Li said in a post on Nio's social media platform. The move marks an expansion of its plan in December of adding 400 such stations this year. Li found more of them are needed to improve user experience after his trips to northeastern China and lower-tier cities in Zhejiang, he added. Battery swapping allows drivers to replace depleted packs quickly with fully charged ones, rather than plugging the vehicle into a charging point. Swapping could help mitigate the growing strains placed on power grids as millions of drivers juice up, yet specialists caution it can only take off in a big way if batteries become standardised industry-wide. Nio is among the few EV makers that are betting on battery swapping as one of the major power solutions for electric cars. Rival Tesla Inc had previously dismissed battery swapping as "riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use". Don’t miss out on ET Prime stories! Get your daily dose of business updates on WhatsApp. click here! Tuesday, 21 Feb, 2023 Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! Read Complete Print Edition » Front Page Pure Politics Companies ET Markets More Bourses Review Extension of Equity F&O Trade Hours Stock exchanges are reviving plans of longer trading hours for equity derivative contracts, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The National Stock Exchange (NSE), which is spearheading the effort, is in preliminary discussions with market participants to extend timings for stock futures and options (F&O) trading, they said. Govt Hopeful of Work Starting on at least One Semicon Unit by Yr end The Centre is hopeful that at least one among the “few” semiconductor manufacturing projects it expects to approve in 2023 will commence “ground-breaking” at its manufacturing unit by the year end, a top official told ET. Small Packs Fit Inflation-hit Urban Baskets With retail inflation on the rise again, packaged goods companies are pushing small packages even in urban markets across soaps, toothpaste, confectionery, coffee, soft drinks and detergents at kirana stores, modern trade and online platforms. These are already contributing 20-50% of sales, executives said. Read More News on Nio Inc china tesla inc william li Nio EV car EV Stay on top of technology and startup news that matters. Subscribe to our daily newsletter for the latest and must-read tech news, delivered straight to your inbox. . . . more less ETPrime stories of the day Real Estate Interest rates are rising, so are rental yields. Is it the right time to invest in property? 8 mins read 3 insights to kick-start your day, featuring Swiggy’s “poor judgement” 3 mins read Strategy Stock Radar: Technical charts suggest HDFC Bank is likely to hit fresh record highs in next 3-6 months; time to buy? 3 mins read Subscribe to ETPrime.