NIO ET5T Is The Coolest Chinese Electric Wagon

NIO ET5T

This is the NIO ET5T, seen in the Chinese capital Beijing in the summer of 2024. The ET5T, T for Touring, is an electric station wagon, based on the NIO ET5 sedan. It is a great-looking car, especially in this pretty Aurora Green color. The slender daytime running lights are integrated into the hood, the real lights are in the bumper below.

NIO ET5T.

NIO is a Chinese electric vehicle brand founded in 2014. NIO’s unique selling point is its battery-swap technology. Drivers don’t need to wait for charging, instead, they swap the entire battery at a NIO Power battery swap station. A swap takes about 3 minutes these days. NIO has 3182 swapping stations in China.

With an EV platform, it is easy to create more body styles on one platform. In recent years, many Chinese EV makers have launched sporty wagons, commonly called ‘shooting brakes’ in China. NIO launched the ET5T in 2023. Amazingly, that makes it the last all-new NIO model until today. At the moment of writing, NIO still hasn’t launched the new ET9.

Interior

NIO ET5T - interior.

NIO does great interiors and the ET5T is no exception. The interior is spacious, light, and luxurious, with top-notch materials and trim. The beige Nappa leather seats are almost beautiful. The owner added a few extras: a made-to-fit storage bin behind the screen and a hat for Nomi, the digital AI assistant that loves on dash-top. In China, NIO users can buy all sorts of hats and caps for Nomi. The neck pillow on the driver’s seat is a NIO accessory. The drive selector is at the center tunnel, on the left side, just below the 12.8-inch touch screen. The size of the driver’s display is 10.2 inches. Oh, before I forget: Kleenex alarm!

The NIO ET5/ET5T is the smallest NIO model. The size of the ET5T is: 4790/1960/1499, 2888. It seats five people. The trunk space is 450 liters and 2730 liters with the bench down.

Specifications

On the left: ET5T with the second T in a smaller font size. On the right: 蔚来, Wèilái, the Chinese name of NIO. The ET5T is a powerful car. It has a dual-motor AWD powertrain. The output is 360 kW (490 hp) and 700 Nm. The top speed is 200 km/h and it does 0-100 in 4 seconds flat. NIO offers two battery options: 75 kWh for 530 km and 100 kWh for 680 km. The ET5T has a 400V architecture. Fast charging (10-80%) takes quite a while: 36 minutes for the 75 kWh battery and 48 minutes for the 100 kWh battery. But again, most owners won’t charge very often; they will swap.

Pricing

A blue sky on the hood of the ET5T. NIO’s original slogan is “Blue Sky Coming”. The ET5T regularly outsells the ET5 in China. The price structure is always a little complicated at NIO. Most consumers go for the Battery as a Service (BaaS) option, where they rent the battery instead of owning it. BaaS includes a monthly subscription for battery swaps.  Only a minority of consumers go for full ownership.

  1. ET5T 75 kWh: 298.000 yuan ($41.2K).
  2. ET5T 75 kWh with BaaS: 228.000 yuan + 728 yuan per month ($31.5K + $100 monthly).
  3. ET5T 100 kWh: 356.000 yuan ($49.2K).
  4. ET5T 100 kWh with BaaS: 228.000 yuan + 1128 yuan per month ($31.5K + $156 monthly).

NIO users with BaaS can also change between battery-size. So when they commute, they use the 75 kWh unit. And when they go on a holiday, they can swap in the 100 kW unit. It is a smart, complicated, and expensive system. Most NIO owners seem to love it. And with a car as pretty as the NIO ET5T, well, what’s not to love?

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