Swappable batteries are among this electric SUV’s headline features On sale Early 2025 (est) Price from £60,000 (est)
George Hill george.hill@haymarket.com
YOU KNOW WHAT you’re getting when you visit a restaurant that’s part of a familiar chain; a Nando’s or a Zizzi serves up exactly the same food whether you’re in Exeter or Edinburgh. It’s always exciting, though, to try somewhere new. Nio is just that, but with cars rather than food.
Nio is a Chinese firm that has its sights set on the European car market. It joins a flurry of brands – including Genesis and Polestar – that are hungry to steal sales from established premium names, such as Audi and BMW.
While Nio already has a wide range of models on sale in some European countries (including the ET5 executive car, the ET5 Touring estate, the ET7 luxury saloon and the EL7 luxury SUV), the EL6 family SUV will be the first to arrive in the UK. Sales are expected to begin in 2025, with other models following later.
Nio has a USP, though: its cars feature battery swap technology. This means you can exchange your Nio’s depleted battery for a fully charged one at a dedicated battery swapping station (the battery is removed from beneath the car by an automated machine). The process is said to take three minutes – less time than it takes to fuel a petrol car. And while there are currently no swapping stations in the UK, Nio aims to have several in operation by the time it launches.
The EL6 is powered by two electric motors that produce 483bhp in total, and there’s a choice of two batteries: one that offers 75kWh (total) and another with 100kWh (total). Irrespective of the battery you choose, the EL6 sprints from 0-62mph in just 4.5sec.
We drove an EL6 with the 75kWh battery, which can officially take it 252 miles on a full charge. That’s nothing to write home about, given that the rival Genesis GV60 RWD promises 321 miles on a battery that’s only slightly bigger. The pricier 100kWh version’s official 329-mile range, though, is competitive with the 331-mile Tesla Model Y Long Range.
As for charging, the 75kWh battery has a maximum charging rate of 140kW, while the 100kWh can accept a maximum rate of 180kW. Both can top up from 10-80% in around 30 minutes.
Of the EL6’s nine driving modes, default Comfort is the one we’d stick to. In this, the stand
