Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio has announced its dive into the European market and it sounds like a big one… but will it stick the landing?

The company will bring four battery swap stations to the Oslo region by September, and then will expand to other Norwegian locations, starting in 2022.

While battery swap stations haven’t caught on in Europe, in China Nio has now hit the milestone of 2,000,000 battery swaps .

Truth be told, this charging alternative offers many advantages . You simply drive up to a designated station to you have your EV battery replaced with a new one – and it’s all done within 3 minutes. That’s a full charge, in less time than it takes to drink a coffee.

Nevertheless, Nio’s announcement has raised some controversy on Twitter, where most of the comments characterize the move as “redundant.”

People seem skeptical of this new tech and there are some reasons why: the battery pack would need a very specific design, manufactures would need to produce compatible batteries for all brands, and it would require an entirely new charging infrastructure.

Perhaps that’s why previous attempts at battery swap stations have failed.

In any case, the carmaker will accompany its stations with the launch of its ES8 SUV in September and its ET7 sedan in 2022.

Will Nio succeed or will it fail? Norway might be the best place to try as it’s been very receptive of EV tech so far…

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up .

The UK’s used car market recovers – and BEVs are the winners

The UK‘s used car market has been witnessing a surge since April with sales rising 671% year-on-year, according to the latest INDICATA Market Watch . The trend continued in May with an extra 8.9% increase.

But these aren’t the only striking numbers. Used hybrid car sales went up 8% in May compared with April, by the same rate as petrol cars (8%) and just behind diesel cars, with 10% rise. EVs had the biggest increase of 15%.

Similarly, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) saw the highest rise in stock turnover (how many times their stocks were purchased), with 26% for EVs and 24% for hybrids. Especially regarding hybrids, their stock turnover (10.4x) was almost on par with that of petrol and diesel cars (10.9x).

The data showed that the Vauxhall Mokka was the fastest selling BEV used car up to 4-years-old, followed by the Kia Niro and the Mini.

What’s evident from the data is that the easing of COVID-related lockdown restrictions has allowed for both demand and supply in the UK’s used car market. And most notably, BEVs are gradually holding their ground.

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up

Founder of EV startup Nikola charged with misleading investors

A federal grand jury charged Trevor Milton, founder and former chairman of EV startup Nikola , with three counts of criminal fraud, Bloomberg reports.

He’s accused of lying about “nearly all aspects of the business” to increase stock sales of the electric vehicle startup, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Specifically, prosecutors charged him with two counts of securities fraud, including making false statements about the electric truck company, and wire fraud.

In a separate complaint filed the same day, t he Securities and Exchange Commission commented the following:

“Trevor Milton is innocent,” his lawyers said in a statement. “This is a new low in the government’s efforts to criminalize lawful business conduct. Every executive in America should be horrified.”

Milton, who surrendered voluntarily to federal custody, pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday afternoon.

He was also freed on a $100 million bail secured by his 2,700-acre property in Utah.

Nikola has developed hydrogen electric semi-trucks aimed at the European market, while, last fall, the company announced a partnership with General Motors to develop a pick-up truck powered by Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell .

But now the company’s future seems rather ominous. Nikola’s shares closed down 15% on Thursday to $12.03, the biggest drop since January, while the stock is down 21% year-to-date.

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up?

Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up .