Over-the-air updates revolutionized the car ownership experience, allowing vehicles to get vastly upgraded features while they sit idle in a driveway overnight. Nio is bringing that idea to car hardware too, launching a bigger battery pack for its Firefly city car that current owners will be able to upgrade to.

Current Nio Firefly owners have a 42.1 kWh battery pack, good for 420 km (261 miles) on China's admittedly very forgiving CLTC cycle. Now Nio is introducing the car with a larger 60 kWh battery. Additionally, existing customers who want the 60 kWh battery can pay to upgrade, a Chinese blogger reported, citing comments Firefly's head of brand marketing made at an owners event.

Once the new one is installed, they'll have 560 km (348 miles) of CLTC-rated range, which is a huge upgrade. This new battery, sourced from CATL, is dimensionally the same as the old one, according to reports, just with a different lithium-ion chemistry. Instead of the older lithium-iron phosphate chemistry, the 60 kWh pack will reportedly use a nickel-cobalt-manganese chemistry, which helps explain how Nio was able to increase capacity without changing the pack's footprint.

Swappable batteries aren't new. Nio has been able to swap batteries in its vehicles for years, through its car-wash like stations. Typically, the swap is good for a quick recharge, allowing you to get a fresh battery in minutes rather than spending a half-hour or more to charge. The automaker's battery-as-a-service subscription has also allowed Nio owners to choose bigger or smaller packs at the swapping station to suit their needs.

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