EV maker Nio has commenced customer deliveries of its flagship electric sedan, the ET7, as it readies for expansion into Europe later in 2022.
The first model to be released on the company’s second-generation electric platform, known as NT2.0, the ET7 is a slick 5,101mm sedan that is billed by the carmaker as a spacious yet cosy “second living room” that blends “futuristic technology and modern design.”
It is currently available to order with either a 75kWh or 100kWh battery pack, and in time the company says it will also offer a 150kWh battery pack that it claims will deliver 1,000km on the NEDC cycle – equal to about 700km in real-world driving conditions.
In designing the ET7, Nio has not held back in any way, using its flagship EV to showcase high-end design features, including integrated autonomous driving sensors in the roof, dual-beam LED headlights in a “double-dash” configuration and a “heartbeat” tail light on the rear, and flush door handles that subtly slide outwards upon touch.
Inside, materials made from renewable rattan, smart fragrance and air quality systems, ambient lighting, and even ventilated seats with a massage function, make for a luxurious ride.
Standard inclusions in the ET7 range from a 12.8 inch AMOLED floating touchscreen display, a voice assistant using Nio’s proprietary “Nomi” software, and a 23 speaker (yes, 23!), 1,000 watt Dolby Atmos sound system with 20 channel amplifier.
Pricing for the ET7 is surprisingly not cheap: in China it starts at RMB 448,000 (just under $A94,000 converted). Pricing can be dropped to RMB 378,000 (about $A79,300) if the customer chooses to go with Nio’s Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) swap system instead, effectively subtracting the cost of the battery from the vehicle’s purchase price.
Images shared by Nio in a release about the first customer deliveries show a carpark full of ET7s lined up in rows at its headquarters in Hefei, about 400km west of Shanghai in China. The ET7 is the carmaker’s fourth volume production electric vehicle, joining the ES8, ES6 and EC6 electric SUVs.
It is entirely possible we will see the ET7 on Australian roads in the future, although it may be a few years before this happens.
It is understood that Australia forms part of Nio’s global expansion plans: in December, a map of Australia featured in a highlighted map behind founder and CEO William Li during a talk about the company’s future plans at the company’s annual Nio day.
Nio already sells its ES8 in Norway, and plans to expand to Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Germany in 2022, and into 25 countries by 2025.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.