Image: 肉肉爸比ev
Nio is an EV brand with global ambitions. Back in November, Nio announced that it was working on various more affordable EVs. Now one of these upcoming EVs has been potentially spotted by an auto blogger and Nio follower, @肉肉爸比ev, in China.
The smaller coupe SUV looks to be wrapped in heavy camouflage when it was spotted being driven on the roads. It looks to be the updated version of the current Nio EC6 Coupe which starts at $84,350 AUD.
This entry-level variant is powered by a 324 kW AWD motor setup. The top-of-the-range version produces over 406 kW from its dual motor setup.
The current EC6 is also sitting on Nio’s NT 1.0 platform which is expected to be transitioned to the NT 2.0 platform. The updated platform will offer a smarter driving experience with its intelligent cockpit technology and greater driver assistance features.
The current model of the EC6 has aged well but with Nio’s international expansion, it’s well-documented that the brand would like to develop more affordable EVs. The updated EC6 could offer just that.
The current EC6 offers a coefficient of drag of 0.26 and can sprint from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. It’s offered with a 70 kWh battery pack as well as a larger 100 kWh pack that can offer over 600 km of NEDC range.
Along with other features, Nio’s battery swap technology forms part of the ownership experience. A typical battery can be swapped in under 7 minutes.
Nio also launched the new EC7 last month which offers the new NT 2.0 platform and with the launch out of the way, existing vehicles can also be updated to be in line with the company’s growth vision.
Markets like Europe have been the next step for the brand to expand globally and even at a recent EV expo in Sweden, Nio was surprised by the interest in their all-EV lineup by European customers.
An upcoming more affordable EC6 will be a very desirable EV as Nio continues to expand into Europe before entering the US market. With more affordable EVs on the horizon, maybe right-hand-drive markets like ours in Australia may even see the brand in the coming years.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
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