Nio, a leading Chinese EV brand, has launched its own “Tesla Model Y killer” in its local market. The new mid-sized electric SUV has been highly anticipated and will be under the company’s sub-brand, Onvo, with the model being called the L60.
The L60 will start at the equivalent of under $A43,000 for the 60 kWh standard version, while the long range variant with a 85 kWh battery pack bumps that up to just under $A49,000.
The Tesla Model Y starts at just under $A52,000 in China, which means that the Onvo L60 will be priced $9,000 cheaper than the leading electric model in the country.
There is also another ownership model which relies on Nio’s battery swap technology where the customer can purchase the car for just over $A32,000 and rent the battery pack for an on-going monthly fee.
The battery swap technology the company has developed has been proven for years with the latest reports showing over 53 million battery swaps done by Nio customers so far.
The two battery pack options on the car are developed and manufactured by BYD’s battery division, Findreams. These are likely to be lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) based packs which BYD is renowned for.
The smaller 60 kWh pack has a CLTC range of 555 km while the larger 85 kWh pack bumps that up to 730 km. These are likely to be 450 and 600 km on the WLTP test cycle which is more common in Europe and in Australia.
Moving onto the powertrains, there is a single motor variant which delivers up to 240 kW of power and can help the car sprint from 0-100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.
The dual-motor brings the power output up to 340 kW, bringing the 0-100 km/h time down to 4.6 seconds.
Looking at the dimensions of the car, it’s slightly longer than the Model Y, coming in at 4,828 mm in length.
Despite the length, the aerodynamic design ensures a very low coefficient of drag, sitting at just 0.229. According to Nio, this is the lowest coefficient of drag for any mass-produced SUV, helping it bring improved efficiency on every trip.
Inside the L60, it’s clear that the design of the overall cabin was highly inspired by Tesla’s updated Model 3. This is seen with a large centre screen, wireless charging pads, a rear passenger screen and ambient lighting.
Even the buttons to open the doors appear to be in similar spots to those seen in Tesla vehicles for years.
Having said that, the premium materials used in the cabin are a step up from that in the more mass-produced current Model Y which is expected to get an upgrade in the coming months.
Initial deliveries of the new Onvo L60 will begin in just over a week, starting on 28 September with an expectation to ramp the total monthly deliveries to be ramped up to 20,000 a month by 2025.
This car is crucial to Nio’s long term success and with the company’s launch marketing aiming the product solely at potential Tesla Model Y buyers, it wants to capture some of Tesla’s success in China.
Tesla itself isn’t sitting still and with the refresh Model Y only a couple of months away, Nio and it’s sub brand Onvo have a lot of work to do if it wants the Onvo L60 to be a true “Tesla Model Y killer”.
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.
Fortescue will soon roll out the first of its giant electric haul trucks, capable of…
VW cuts thousands off the prices of its electric ID.Buzz, expecting a boost in inventory…
Zeekr begins mass deliveries of its popular 7X electric SUV as Australian pre-orders surpass 2,500.
Toll Group unveils two new Volvo electric trucks to support BlueScope Steel with its freight…
We found that while charger networks reported roughly 95–98% uptime, the chance of drivers successfully…
Vandalism and theft at EV charging stations have become a growing problem, with one operator…