We might still be waiting for high-end Chinese EV manufacturer Nio to arrive here in the UK, but leading up to its expected 2025 launch we can’t help but get excited about its forthcoming high performance electric estate – the Nio ET5 Touring.
We’ve already driven a saloon version of the BMW i4-rivalling EV and been impressed, a feeling that this new Touring version might well build upon if and when it arrives in a few years time.
Spied being photographed in Norway, a market that Nio is already established in, the ET5 Touring is expected to share many of the saloons mechanical attributes. This means it will run a aluminium-intensive chassis powered by two electric motors mounted on the axles. The saloon has on-paper figures of 483bhp and 700Nm of torque, shooting it to 62mph in around 4 seconds and onto a 124mph top speed.
Nio offers two battery options for the ET5 saloon, 75kWh or 100kWh, and these provide WLTP ranges of 283 and 366 miles respectively. Nio quotes a 10-80 per cent charging time of 30 and 40 minutes for the different pack sizes, but also has an innovative battery-swap capability which gives owners the ability to physically swap to a charged battery pack on a longer road trip.
This battery swap infrastructure is already in place in Nio’s native China, and is quickly being rolled out to its current European markets – Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden – where there are due to be 70 swap stations in operation by the end of 2023. These powertrain and battery options are expected to be applied wholesale to the new ET5 Touring with customers encouraged to lease the battery for a monthly fee that also includes two free swaps and 200kWh of free charging per month in Norway.
As we can see, the ET5’s sleek design language looks intact on the estate model, only with an even sleeker estate body attached. As with lots of modern EVs, thin LED lighting and rear light bars are the name of the game, but far from just looking generic, Nio looks to have found its own, minimalist look.
Inside, Nio ET5 saloon’s interior design is clean and unadorned, with a 12.8-inch infotainment screen taking care of most controls. The interface is simple and, like lots of EV-only rivals, the ET5 has had a focus on software integration from its inception. As well as the usual interfaces, Nio’s ‘Nomi’ personal assistant is integrated into the dash-top. The Touring will most likely carry across all the same details, only with a more versatile rear cargo area.
Prices for the ET5 saloon start at 60,900 euros (£53,000), so it’s likely this new Touring will carry a small price premium when it eventually arrives in the UK from around 2025.
Now read our review of the Nio ET5 saloon…