Leaked photos of a sleek sedan from Nio, the EV company that popularised under-3-minute battery swapping technology, have emerged showing the refreshed version of one of its most popular models.
A silver Nio ET5 has been seen testing in China ahead of its expected launch in the coming months.
On the front are redesigned headlights, which are sharper in appearance and feature LED matrix headlight technology.
Staying on the front, there is a redesigned front bumper with better air intake outlets that also help improve aerodynamics of the already fairly slippery looking sedan.
Looking at the images from the side, the flush door handles are also to help with maintaining higher aerodynamic efficiency.
Along with that, there are multiple changes to the inside, including updates to the car’s chipset hardware, cabin design updates and other changes to improve customer experience.
One of the biggest changes on the inside includes Nio’s in-house designed 5 nm architecture-based chipset, adding to the number of manufacturers working and implementing their own automotive grade processing chips in their cars, particularly for smart and autonomous driving.
The ET5 will be one of the brand’s first vehicles to incorporate this chip which is likely to end up in other upcoming Nio models in 2025.
The nearly 4.8 metre long has been one of Nio’s most popular model in the last couple of years, helping the brand gain popularity amongst younger more tech driven owners.
In 2024, the ET5 sedan sold just over 26,510 while its station wagon Touring counterpart raked up almost twice as many sales, reaching 50,869.
Specs wise, the new ET5 will carry over many of the existing model’s powertrain, featuring 360 kW of power from an AWD powertrain.
Swappable batteries with either 75 kWh of 100 kWh are on offer along with DC charging speeds compatibility of 180 kW when they can’t be swapped in under 3 seconds at Nio’s latest battery swap stations.
These stations have done over 60 million battery swaps in China and are likely to be part of the international rollout in the coming years as Nio and its sub-brands expand into international markets.
Nearly two years ago, we reported on The Driven that Nio was planning on bringing the ET5 sedan to right-hand-drive markets when it announced that it would be debuting its ET5 electric sedan for the UK market at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England.
At that time, Nio had three stores in Europe. Two in Germany which were located in Frankfurt and Berlin along with the solo Norway Nio House store in Oslo.
Since then, not a lot more has been reported on Nio’s progress on entry into the right hand drive markets. That could change with the new ET5 sedan or other models from its sub-brands such as Firefly hatchback or the Onvo brand with its L60 SUV.
In recent months, Nio also started delivering China’s smallest electric hatchback, the Firefly, in China. It’s also already available for sale in a few European countries with plans to land in right-hand-drive markets by the end of the year.
As Nio expands into international markets, it’d be quite a unique offering where swap stations are available. Where they are not, reasonable fast charging capabilities with the car’s sleek looks and tech could be enough to win customers over.
