Nio introduced the ET7, a luxury flagship electric sedan with an outstanding 600-mile range and fully-autonomous driving capability.
Nio is a Chinese automobile manufacturer, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Shanghai, specializing in developing and designing electric vehicles. It already had quite interesting models in its lineup, but its latest entry is by far the most impressive.
Largest Battery in an Electric Car Yet
The ET7’s top-of-the-line trim packs a humongous 150-kWh battery, 50% bigger than Tesla’s biggest battery offering. The Chinese manufacturer claims this variant range to reach up to an outstanding 600 miles (1000 km). Other variants include 70-kWh and 100-kWh battery packs, good enough for 310 and 435 miles of range, respectively.
Keep in mind, though, that China uses NEDC testing standards whose results slightly differ from actual usage in real-life conditions. Considering that, the approximate range should be around 500 miles for the top trim, which is still an excellent number.
Furthermore, the ET7 features 33 onboard sensors onboard, including eleven 8MP cameras, long-range LiDAR, and NVidia Orin SOCs. Nio promises that these make the ET7 fully autonomous, although customers have to shell out extra in the form of a monthly subscription. The Chinese brand promises it used maximum security standards in its autonomous technology.
The Nio ET7 isn’t short on performance too. Floor the accelerator, and it will sprint from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds, thanks to the dual-motors producing 480kW and 627lb-ft of torque. And, since going fast is not enough, the electric sedan can also come to a halt from 62mph in just 36.6 yards.
Contemporary Appearance
Talking about the aesthetics, the ET7 packs dual-beam LED headlights, double-dash daytime running lights, and crystal-like heartbeat taillights. Moreover, the manufacturer promises a theatre-like immersive sound experience, thanks to 23 speakers with a combined amplified output of 1,000W. Nio also implemented a sleek and sophisticated HUD dashboard, a 10.2-inch instrument cluster, and a 12.8-inch center display.
That being said, one of the most exciting features of the ET7 is the door-opening system. When entering the vehicle, the door automatically opens slightly when holding the handle. When the driver is seated, the door closes with soft pull action. Similarly, the door gently opens up with just a click when exiting.
The ET7 is up for pre-order now, and delivery will start in the first quarter of 2022. In the initial phase of production, Nio will offer two battery capacities — 70-kWh and 100-kWh — the 150-kWh option being added in late 2022.
It Won’t be Cheap, Though
The pricing of ET7 is variable depending on the battery capacity. The top 150-kWh variant will cost 526,000 yuan or roughly $81,000. Meanwhile, customers will have to shell out 448,000 yuan ($69,185) and 506,000 yuan ($78,142) for the 70kWh and 100kWh models, respectively.
Interestingly, one area that really differentiates Nio from other competitors is the battery swap method. Nio has built a functioning network of 131 battery-swap stations covering a few thousand kilometers of Chinese expressways. It will be interesting to see how it performs in the real world.
EVs are the future, and Nio is ready to disrupt the market. With its global ET7 launch, Nio shows it can compete with giants like Tesla, General Motors, Ford, and even the Porsche Taycan.
To be continued…
