Nio opens first European third generation battery swap station

Stockholm has got Europe’s first in a new iteration of EV battery swap stations developed by Chinese EV pure play Nio. The new design promises an improved user experience and quicker swapping, according to Hui Zhang, head of Nio’s German arm.  

As if to emphasise the pace of swapping compared to charging, the third generation stations boast a 20pc quicker experience. But that translates to around a minute saved, e.g. five minutes reduced to four.

Nio has also lowered the swapping platform by 10cm and improving the parking position. It has also invested in automatic 3D detection which “protects the swap from outside interference to ensure a smooth process”, Zhang says.

Big in Europe

The firm is aggressively targeting European expansion, with its already available ET5 and ET7 sedan and EL7 mid-to-large SUV models set to be joined by the ET5T tourer and EL6 all-round SUV by the end of the year.

At the end of July, Nio could boast 21 battery swapping stations in Europe, but has since opened at least three more in Bavaria, Rheinland Palatinate and Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, and another in Norway.

Earlier this month, it opened a first Dutch Nio Hub on Utrecht, to go alongside a similar facility it inaugurated in Munich earlier in the year. As of end of July, it boasted six Nio Houses, seven Nio Spaces and 49 Nio Service Centers in Europe as it grows its footprint on the continent.