Nio ET7 customer deliveries to begin on 28 March 2022 [Update]

Update: ‘Retail’ section added with information on the arrival of show cars and booking amount in China.

The Nio ET7, the brand’s new flagship sedan, is nearing its arrival in the first market – China. Nio will started taking confirmed orders of the ET7 last month, and will begin customer deliveries on 28 March. Export markets will get the ET7 later this year, and Germany and Norway should be among the first ports of call.

Specifications

The Nio ET7 is widely seen as a rival to the Tesla Model S and the Lucid Air. It’s bigger than both cars, which should translate to a more spacious cabin especially for passengers in the rear seat, and a grand road presence.

Model/Dimension	Nio ET7	Tesla Model S	Lucid Air
Length	5,101 mm	4,970 mm	4,975 mm
Width	1,987 mm	1,964 mm	1,939 mm
Height	1,509 mm	1,445 mm	1,410 mm
Wheelbase	3,060 mm	2,960 mm	2,960 mm

Performance

The Nio ET7 has two motors, a front PMSM generating 180 kW (245 PS) and 350 Nm, and a rear induction motor adding 300 kW (408 PS) and 500 Nm. The total power and total torque available in the Nio ET7 are 480 kW (653 PS) and 850 Nm, respectively.

With its punchy twin-motor system, the Nio ET7 accelerates faster than the base Porsche Taycan – 4S. The German high-performance electric sedan can go from 0-100 km/h in 4 seconds flat and keeps accelerating till 250 km/h. The Turbo and Turbo S variants offer even better performance. The Chinese model can reach from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, but according to the MIIT listing, it can attain a top speed of only 200 km/h.

The Lucid Air can go from 0-97 km/h as quickly as in just 2.5 seconds, and it can achieve a top speed of up to 168 mph. The Tesla Model S Plaid is the crazy one of the lot, capable of 0-100 km/h in less than 2.1 seconds and a 320 km/h top speed, thanks to three motors generating more than 1,100 PS of system power!

Range

While the world’s largest automakers like Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, and Hyundai Motor Group don’t see solid-state batteries coming in the first half of the decade in their cars, Nio Technologies is apparently years ahead.

Nio says that the ET7 will be the world’s first mass-produced electric car available with a solid-state battery pack. A 150 kWh solid-state battery pack with a 50% battery energy density of 360 Wh/kg will be available as an option. Nio said in January 2021 that the new battery would be available from the fourth quarter (October-December) of this year.

The Nio ET7 has likely the longest range for any electric car in the world that is mass-produced. With the 150 kWh solid-state battery pack, it can offer an estimated CLTC range of 1,000 km. The Tesla Model S Plaid does 520+ miles/837+ km (comparatively conservative EPA number), while the Lucid Air Grand Touring’s projected EPA estimated range is 517 miles/832 km. Nio’s ET5 and the GAC Aion LX Plus are the two models that would compete for the title in 2022.

Initially, Nio will offer only conventional 75 kWh and 100 kWh battery pack options. The company expects these battery packs to provide a CLTC range of 480-550 km and 615-705 km, respectively. Do note that CLTC range figures tend to be considerably higher than the WLTP range and EPA figures.

Features

The Nio ET7 is available with a plethora of high-end features that make it a very attractive luxury EV. On the outside, the electric sedan features dual-beam LED headlights, double-dash DRLs, a full-width LED taillight, a dome-shaped glass roof, orange callipers, and 21-inch wheels.

Interior highlights of the ET7 include 10.2-inch HDR virtual instrument cluster, 12.8-inch AMOLED touchscreen infotainment system, 6.6-inch HDR rear multi-function control screen, 7.1.4-channel, 23-speaker sound system with Dolby Atoms technology, 4K driving recorder, HUD, a digital key with Ultra Wideband technology, and massage seats (front and rear). Nio offers the ET7 only as a five-seater, with seats featuring winged headrests.

While most countries still await the rollout of 5G on mobile phone networks, China is ahead, and the Nio ET7 offers that experience as well. The Nio ET7 features the third-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform and Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive 5G platform. The former enables highly intuitive AI experiences, rich visual experiences with support for multiple displays and an evolved version of NOMI, which Nio claims to be the world’s first in-car AI system. The latter is the industry’s first 5G dual SIM dual active (DSDA) platform for automotive use.

The ET7 possesses autonomous driving capabilities, thanks to NIO Aquila Super Sensing and NIO Adam Super Computing. NIO Aquila Super Sensing includes 33 sensing units: 11 8MP cameras, 1 LiDAR, 5 mm-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 2 high-precision positioning units, V2X, and ADMS). NIO Adam runs on four NVIDIA DRIVE Orin SoCs that together offer 1,016 TOPS of computing power.

The ET7 provides autonomous driving on some urban roads and highways, and at battery swap stations. It can park itself, too. It comes with a long list of relatively traditional safety and driving assistance functions as well.

Price

Prices of the Nio ET7 start at CNY 4,48,000 (EUR 62,196), or CNY 3,78,000 (EUR 52,478) with BaaS. In the latter, the customer has to subscribe to a battery pack with a monthly payment of at least CNY 980 (EUR 136). In China, Nio will sell the ET7 in seven colour options: Cloud White, Deep Space Black, Star Grey, Li Kongyin, South Pole Star Blue, Xiaguang Orange, and Aurora Green. The last three options will cost CNY 10,000 (EUR 1,388) extra.

Production

Production of the Nio ET7 will take place at the JAC-NIO plant in Hefei, China. On 16 September 2021, Nio announced that it had rolled out the first batch of tooling trial prototypes of the ET7. The company released a few pictures of these ET7s, showing green- and white-coloured units.

Retail

With the deliveries of the ET7 expected to start next month in China, Nio has started transporting show cars to Nio dealerships. The demo cars are arriving at the Nio stores and customers are allowed to see the interior, according to a Weibo car blogger. The blogger posted a picture of an ET7 mounted onto a trailer arriving at a Nio store in Jiangyin, Jiangsu province in East China.

According to Cnevpost‘s report on 8 February, 2022, Yang Bo, head of the sales program at Nio said that these are ‘engineering pilot cars’ and prospective customers will not be able to enter the cabin, at least as of yet. In March, more vehicles will arrive and customers will be able to take test drives.

Customers can pay a booking amount of RMB 5,000 (EUR 694) for the Nio ET7 and get a discount of RMB 10,000 (EUR 1,388) on the purchase price at the time of delivery. The discount however ends on March 28, according to Cnevpost.

Nio plans to enter Denmark

Nio not only plans to expand in China with deliveries of the ET7 March onwards but will also deepen its presence in Europe with its new EVs. The Danish Car Importers Association has confirmed that Nio has become a member, which means Nio is gearing up for launch in the Danish market. The association handles and secures imported automobiles in the Scandinavian country. While the ET7 has already been confirmed for Germany and Norway, Denmark is expected to follow suit.

Featured Image Source: MIIT