China’s smart EV start-up Nio seeks to challenge BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz with its new ES7 luxury midsize SUV
- The ES7, a large five-seat SUV based on the company’s new NT 2.0 platform, will be delivered to customers in late August
- Buyers will be able to save 70,000 yuan on the purchase price if they opt for the battery rental approach
China’s smart electric vehicle (EV) start-up Nio has launched a luxury midsize sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that can go as far as 650 kilometres on a single charge, as it takes the fight to conventional marquees such as BMW and Audi in the world’s largest automotive market.
The ES7, a large five-seat SUV based on the company’s new NT 2.0 platform, will be delivered to customers in late August, by which time it is hoped that damaged automotive supply chains due to Covid-19 pandemic curbs will be fully restored.
“In terms of features and specifications, the ES7 will prove to be a glass ceiling for any other electric or conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) carmaker to break in the luxury SUV segment,” said William Li, co-founder and chief executive of Nio in an online launch event on Wednesday, adding that the company was well prepared to deliver vehicles to customers promptly.
The ES7, Nio’s sixth production model, will be sold at between 468,000 yuan (US$69,697) and 526,000 yuan.
It will be fitted with Adam, Nio’s supercomputing platform, and PanoCinema, a panoramic and immersive digital cockpit with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies.
Buyers will be able to save 70,000 yuan on the purchase price if they opt for the battery rental approach, which requires a monthly 980 yuan fee.