'All' electric car owners in UK issued 'five minute' charging warning

James Rodger

16 June 2024 at 5:16 am·2-min read

Electric car owners can swap batteries in five minutes after a breakthrough. Nio, a premium Chinese car manufacturer, has launched the third generation of its Power Swap Stations, which allow motorists to replace their batteries in under five minutes.

The motoring and tech firm aims to have 4,000 stations worldwide by the end of next year, with 1,000 of them located outside of China. Motorists can now drive into any one of its Power Swap Stations around China to get a fresh battery pack installed in about five minutes.

That's roughly the same time it takes to fill up a tank of petrol or diesel. The EV industry has struggled to create a viable model for quick and easy battery swaps in recent decades, but there are hopes the breakthrough could change things.

In Europe, Nio has launched in Norway, the Netherlands and Germany, and it has 13 stations live across those markets, with more than 12,000 swaps completed. The record for a second-gen station is 171, but Nio Power boss Fei Shen claims the new unit can handle over 400 swaps per day.

He also said the stations can help to balance energy grids. Shen says the cost of a battery swap is “comparable with a Supercharger”, with the benefit being that it is substantially quicker. He added: “Two big concerns of EV owners are range anxiety and about the cost and lifespan of batteries. Battery swapping addresses both of those concerns.”

Its EU - which is situated in Hungary in the European Union - plant can produce around 100 swap stations per year. The plan for the next year is to launch 1000 more stations in China and 70 more in Europe. Nio is "putting the finishing touches to its plans to enter the UK" in the near future, according to reports.

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