High-tech Nio ET5 is a quick, quiet EV with batteries that can be swapped in just FOUR minutes – is this the future?

ELECTRIC cars, eh? If you’re not worried about how far they’ll go, you’re worried about the time it takes to recharge.

And if not that, then you’re worried that better batteries will come along and kill your car’s secondhand value.

Supplied

Supplied

Here’s an idea so simple there almost has to be a catch. Make the battery swappable. Like in a torch.

It’s happening. Not using throwaway batteries of course, but rechargeable packs.

I’m in a Nio ET5, at a Nio power-swap station in Gol, Norway.

Nio has installed about 40 in Europe so far and more than 2,400 in its native China.

It has also partnered with Geely – owner of Volvo, Lotus and more. So with luck they can get a standard battery.

Avoiding a repeat of DVD vs Blu-ray and USB vs Lightning.

I stop between painted marks in front of the station. It is about the size of a truck container, with an open bay at one end.

With my hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals, the car turns itself through 90 degrees and reverses precisely into the swap station.

Then come a few whirrs and clanks, but nothing to see from the driving seat.

Four minutes later, my remaining range has gone from ten miles to more than 250.

It feels simple, but it is an amazing feat of robotics and communication.

You can reserve a spot at the swap station hours before, using the car’s sat nav, which lets you know if you will have to queue. And sorts the payment afterwards.

By the way, this was a bank holiday getaway day in Norway.

Also in Gol, I passed a Tesla supercharger park with 48 cables. Every one was occupied, with a dozen Teslas queueing.

Nio says the swap station has other advantages over cable chargers.

First, the bank of depleted batteries inside can charge up at night when electricity is cheap.

And as they are buffering, they don’t need such a powerful grid connection to cope with peak demand from drivers. Nor so much land as a row of chargers. So they can be installed more quickly.

 And because you pay a battery lease fee, if you want to upgrade to a bigger pack for a long trip, or a higher-tech one later, you can.

And the Nio ET5? Nice car. I was in the Touring version.

Not as roomy as an SUV, because it’s slinky looking. But good for the driver: quick and smooth, with a fine ride given the cornering agility. It’s well made and quiet. And high-tech – though its comprehensive driver aids didn’t like snow.

 Humans still rule.

Nio is planning to come to Britain in 2025. Back home, over the Chinese New Year holiday in February, it did 872,000 swaps. So we know the tech works.

But you can also charge the car at home or on a normal public rapid cable.