Producing an electric car that overshadows Tesla, the current leader in EV cars, has become the big goal of automakers, and to these the Chinese NIO is added with the ET5 model. And for sure to maintain its lead for years to come, Tesla will have to face more and more competitors. Asia, a continent in continuous industrial expansion and where production costs are lower, threatens Musk’s throne with much cheaper and more performing proposals, such as the one just presented by the Chinese company NIO.
Who is NIO, the company that produces the ET5 and aims to become a top player among the electric
NIO is a multinational company founded in 2014 with headquarters in Shanghai, which is certainly not well known in Italy. But it is certainly not one of those companies that are born and disappear within a few years or months.
The first model developed was the EP9 supercar, introduced in 2016. Matching an attractive design and excellent driving performance, the EP9 offers extraordinary acceleration and one of three best-in-class electric propulsion technologies
NIO ES6
The Chinese automaker launched its first mass-produced electric vehicle, the ES8, during the NIO Day event on December 16, 2017 and began making deliveries on June 28, 2018. The ES8 is an all-aluminum 7-seater electric SUV. After this model. NIO officially launched the‘ES6, an electric SUV 5-seater premium high-performance in December 2018 and began its first deliveries in June 2019. The company can be considered as one of the first to put effort and money into intelligent automotive connectivity and level 2 autonomous driving. NIO brand is perhaps best known for becoming Formula E world champion in the 2014/15 season with his car driven by Nelson Piquet Jr.
NIO ET5, tough times for the Tesla Model 3?
After the four EVs already on the list, now is the time for the new NIO ET5 electric sedan. This is a model with which NIO intends to put some salt on the tail of the Tesla Model 3, the best-selling electric car in the world, supporting its offer with a fundamental pillar for users who choose or would like to switch to an electric car. : autonomy.
Prepared for level 3 autonomous driving in certain scenarios, such as highways, urban areas and parking lots, NIO ET5 has a range of up to 1,000 kilometers, almost double that of the Tesla Model 3 in its Long Range version.
Although the efficiency of the NIO ET5 is certified according to the cycle CLTC used in China which is “softer” than the WLTP standard, the data, however, leave no doubt on the long distance of the Chinese car.
The NIO ET5 is offered with three different battery packs and only the Ultra Long Range, 150 kWh, can travel up to 1,000 kilometers on a single charge. The other options are the Standard, with a 75 kWh battery and 550 km of autonomy, and the Long Range, with 100 kWh and 700 km of autonomy, which place it at the level of cars with internal combustion engines.
Faced with these figures, the Tesla Model 3 Great Autonomy certifies a range of 614 km of autonomy in the WLTP cycle, which is clearly the basis of two of the three models of the Chinese company.
Another of the strengths of the NIO ET5 is its power. Equipped with two electric motors, one 150 kW at the front and a rear 210 kW, develops a combined power of 490 CV (360 kW) with all-wheel drive. This allows her, to snap from 0 to 100 km / h in just 4.3 seconds.
However, it is not only in the mechanical aspects that the NIO ET5 stands out from the rest of the electric cars in its range. Its design, with youthful and angular lines, is in line with the other four models previously launched on the market by the company. The rear, finished with a full-width LED strip, is reminiscent of a Porsche. Its length, 4.79 meters, is slightly longer than that of the Tesla Model 3 (4.69 meters).
NIO has also developed eight driving modes for the ET5, which affect power delivery and steering and suspension calibration.
As for its interior, sports a large screen (10.2 inches) with infotainment system and digital instrumentation, as well as a Dolby Atmos surround sound system. But its technological offer does not stop there. It also offers the PanoCinema system, in practice a Head-up Display with augmented reality capable of projecting a screen from 201 inches to 6 meters.
The base price of the NIO ET5 is approx 45.700 euro, that is an amount a little less than the 49,000 euros that you have to pay for a Tesla Model 3. There is a cheaper option that provides for the rental of the battery (“BaaS”, Battery-as-a-Service), thanks to which the price of the car is reduced to about 36,000 euros. NIO has already opened the ET5 pre-order period which will go on sale in September 2022.