The Nio (EV Brand) Thread

FiestaST

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A dedicated thread is needed for Nio, called the “Tesla of China”. They are making some big inroads into Europe after getting major success in China./


Nio officially launches in Europe with all cars available on subscription

Nio officially launched its brand onto the European markets with all of its three models available in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden to begin with. The company introduced its Power Swap Station program and confirmed availability of its electric cars for orders and deliveries.

In a last minute change, Nio had to alter the name of its electric SUV from ES7 to EL7 to avoid a dispute with Audi. Apart from that late bump in the road, everything else went smoothly on the day. The company announced it already has servicing partners in all major cities across the new countries it's launching in and it confirmed it will have 20 Power Swap Stations installed by the end of this year, with over 120 stations planned for next year.

Nio car owners will conduct all business via Nio App - booking service appointments, reporting issues, buying cars and buying other products from the extensive range of the Nio Life lifestyle brand. The Nio App offers full control of the vehicle as well as all connected services. Nio is planning to build a community around the brand with first Nio Houses being opened in Germany and further planned across Europe.

When you look closely at Nio’s business model, you realize the company is so much more than just the electric car manufacturer. This community business model is fairly new to European markets, many brands tried that before but failed miserably. Nio has been very successful in its attempt in creating community around its products and services so far and it seems customers embrace its efforts.

The three models being launched across the first European countries are the electric SUV EL7 and two electric sedans - the larger ET7 and slightly smaller ET5. Smaller does not mean small by any means - the ET5 is 10 cm longer than Tesla Model 3 and just a whisker longer than BMW i4. The ET7, despite its misleading appearance, is a very large sedan - it is nearly 13 cm longer than Tesla Model S or Lucid Air.

All three models will come with dual-motor AWD powertrains. The EL7 and ET7 share the 480 kW powertrain and the ET5 is coming with a less powerful but still juicy 360 kW. All three cars are capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 4 seconds and Nio did not forget about brakes - all cars have 4-piston large diameter brakes and even the heaviest EL7 stops from 100 km/h in less than 34 meters.



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Nio Is Working on One, Possibly Two Sub-Brands for Cheaper EVs

The Tesla competitor is in the process of expanding to Europe and eventually the U.S., but some markets will require a different approach.

While Nio’s North American launch is still taking shape, the Chinese EV maker has built out its plan to expand into Europe, starting with Norway and Germany before rolling out across the continent. But expansion isn’t Nio’s only objective; the startup will diversify its offerings as well, with the foundation of another, lower-end brand that has not yet been named.

A report that broke over the weekend via Automotive News Europe has shed light on the young company’s intentions. Nio’s hope is to create a more affordable marque — supposedly codenamed “Alps” — to be like what Volkswagen is to Audi, or Mazda to Amati. While premium brands and products rule in Germany, for example, the automaker’s top brass believes Alps will find more success in other European markets, like France, Italy and Spain.

The strategy makes sense when you consider where European buyers tend to spend the most on cars. Nio’s footprint in Europe starts with Norway, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark. Scanning the list of average prices of new cars in Europe in 2020 by country, per Statista, four of those five countries are in the top seven out of a list of 19. The only real outlier is the Netherlands, but even then you don’t have to scroll too far down the order to find it, situated at No. 9.

In 2020, the average cost of a new car across those five countries was 39,828 euros. Meanwhile, the average price of a new car in Spain, France and Italy — which ranked No. 16, 17 and 18 on the list, respectively — was 28,788 euros. In the latter group, Nio would be wise to lead with Alps rather than, well, Nio.

Nio may even stretch itself lower in some markets, where Alps might still be too rich. That brings us to a third rumored sub-brand — potentially named “Firefly” or “Himalaya,” per CnEV Post — supposedly aiming for the 100,000 yuan range. That works out to about $14,000.


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Chinese EV maker Nio is hoping to take on the German titans

Chinese electric carmaker Nio launched in Germany this month, hoping competitive prices and an innovative battery swap system can help it take on world-renowned local automotive brands.

The vehicle maker held an event in Berlin to mark the start of sales of its ES8 SUV and ETV models in Europe's biggest economy.

Facing stiff competition in the home of well-known brands from Porsche to Mercedes-Benz, Nio hopes to get an edge over rivals with a system that allows batteries to be quickly exchanged.

Instead of recharging their car, motorists can swap their drained battery for a fully charged one in a matter of minutes at an automated station.

"By 2025 we will be present in 25 countries and regions," chief executive William Li said in the German capital.

The company plans to install a thousand such stations outside China - and mainly in Europe - by 2025, Nio president Qin Lihong, told German daily Handlesblatt earlier this month.

 
Nio Norway launches Nio ET5 and Nio EL7 online configurators

Only last month Nio Norway launched the online configurator for its flagship sedan, the ET7, and now both the ET5 and EL7 are available for configuration and orders online. The service reveals all the pricing and all available options.

Nio ET5 starts at just over €49,120 at current exchange rates ($48,550) - that price includes the 75kWh battery pack ownership, the shipping from China, delivery and all administration costs. Opting for the 100 kWh battery puts the price up to €55,800 or just over $55,000.

Nio also offers the BaaS - Battery as a Service - and customers can choose to rent rather than buy the battery. Doing so for the lowers the purchase price to €40,440/$39,825. Monthly battery rentals are set at €135 for the 75kWh pack and €193 for the 100kWh battery and come with 6 monthly battery swaps included in the price of rental.

The EL7 SUV starts in Norway at €69,400 for the 75 kWh model with all the delivery and administration costs included. The 100 kWh model starts at €76,160 or nearly $75,000. Just as with the ET5, taking the battery rental option brings the price down for both the cars to just over €60,000 or nearly $60,000. The battery rentals are the same as for the ET5 - €135 for the 75kWh pack and €193 for the 100kWh pack.

Ordering Nio ET5 right now guarantees its delivery in March next year, while the EL7 delivery is quoted as 4 months which technically means February 2023, but the company wouldn’t commit to be so specific.

The Nio ET7 has been available for order online since beginning of this month, the prices remain at the same level - €65,500 for the 75kWh and €72,250 for the 100kWh model. Ticking the battery rental option box drops the price to €56,800 and battery rentals are identical to the ones for ET5 and EL7 - €135 for the smaller pack and €193 for the long-range battery.

 
Nio is adding an option to buy, not just lease, its cars in Europe on November 21

Earlier this month, Nio officially unveiled the ET5, ET7, and EL7 for Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, shocking everyone with its subscription-only sales model. Unlike in China and Norway, in these four countries Nio only allows people to lease vehicles, not buy them.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of prospective Nio customers were put off by this, and in the meantime Nio CEO William Li said the company was "open" to bringing an option to actually purchase its cars to Europe. And now this is official.

Starting on November 21, you will be able to configure a Nio for purchase in the aforementioned European countries. Why November 21? Because that's the sixth anniversary of the brand's launch in London together with the EP9 supercar.

 
Nio is investing $273 million in new battery tech company

Battery shortage and technological limitations are backing car makers into a corner as they need to find a reliable source of batteries to be able to keep manufacturing going. To that end Nio established a new battery tech company in China.

According to a Chinese news outlet Aiqicha, Nio has registered a new company called Nio Battery Technology (Anhui) Co. Ltd. with Nio's founder William Li serving as a chairman. The capital is about CNY 2 billion ($273 million). The firm will build 31 laboratories for the research and development of batteries. They will work on improving charging, discharging, temperatures, sealing, safety, voltage and everything related to battery tech.

 
Nio will let Chinese owners swap different-sized batteries daily

Nio will leverage its cars' innovative battery swap ability to offer a unique new program. Starting in a few Chinese cities, Nio will allow owners to swap to a different size battery - bigger or smaller - on a daily basis.

The pilot program will be live from October 28 in Guangdong, Shandong, Chongqing, Hangzhou, and Huzhou but Nio plans to make it available across all of China from late December.

The pilot will be available to both regular Nio owners as well as those that bought the car through the BaaS (battery as a service) program.

Nio battery swap stations will have three batteries on tap - 70kWh, 75kWh, and 100kWh. There are plans to offer a semi-solid-state 150kWh battery but that has been delayed until 2023.

Owners with a 70-75kWh battery will pay CNY 68 ($9.4) per day to move to the 100kWh battery, while those with the biggest battery moving down will get 200 Nio credits, worth CNY 20, per day.

 
You can now purchase a Nio in Europe, not just lease it - here are the prices

Nio initially launched in Europe only with a lease model, and that led to some backlash, so eventually the company promised to also offer a purchase option in the continent. This is now live in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, which means we have prices to talk about.

The first prices we'll list are with Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS), whereby you pay an additional €169 per month for the 75 kWh pack or €289 per month for the 100 kWh one. If you go this route, you are able to use Nio's trademark battery swapping stations, of which many are promised to pop up all over Western Europe in the coming months and years (the first one in the Netherlands launches on December 1). These allow you to have a fully automatic battery replacement in around five minutes.

With this setup, the Nio ET5 starts at €49,900 in Germany and €51,900 in the Netherlands, the ET7 at €69,900 in Germany and €72,900 in the Netherlands, and the EL7 at €73,900 in Germany and €76,900 in the Netherlands. All of these numbers include VAT.

If you want to buy the battery as well, you should add €12,000 on top of those numbers for the 75 kWh unit, and €21,000 if you go for the 100 kWh battery. Nio promises that financing options will be available, but "at a later date".

 
It looks like Nio is working on shooting brake version of ET5

Nio is planning a very busy start for 2023 - the company wants to release 5 new models in the first six months of the next year. As the development work progresses and road tests begin, spy photos and videos start popping up all over the Internet.

One of the WeChat users just posted a video of what seems to be Nio ET5 with a new bodystyle and it does look a lot like a shooting brake. Gor those unaware shooting brake is not a full wagon or estate, it’s slightly shorter with a more slanted rear window - a more sporty wagon if you like. Here is the short video:

The lights, mirrors, the LiDAR sensor and the front of the car clearly indicate it is a Nio ET5, but the rear is all new. The shooting brake was never a big seller in China, it was a niche market never looked at by main automakers. Then came Zeekr 001 and thanks to its success the tide seems to be turning - 55,600 units sold made the competition sit up and pay attention.

Zeekr 001 created the path for everybody else to follow and Nio seems to be out of the gate and gearing up for launch. CEO of Nio, William Li, confirmed during the Q3 results call that the company will have 8 models on sale before the end of Q2 2023. That is a huge push, even if it means that three models will be the updated versions of ES8, ES6 and EC6 that Nio wants to move across to the new 2.0 EV platform.


 
More photos of Nio ET5 Shooting Brake and Baojun SUV spotted for the first time

Only a couple of days have passed since we saw for the first time what appears to be a new version of the Nio ET5 and now we have confirmation thanks to more detailed photos that in fact it is a shooting brake version of the very popular electric car from Nio.

There is no doubt this is going to be one good looking EV, especially attractive to those who are craving for an electric estate or a wagon, until now the choice was limited to MG5. The manufacturers focus all their efforts on SUVs and hatchback, sedans are popular in China but there is a new trend slowly emerging.

The trend was tarted by Zeekr 001 which is neither a hatchback or a wagon, it’s kinda reminiscent of the old Lexus IS300 Sportcross. That half-way middle-road is what we refer to as Shooting Brake, Mercedes explored that niche with resounding success thanks to its CLA model. Basically, a shooting brake is a wagon but much sportier, designed more for looking good than lugging cargo but still offering more space - it’s a win-win solution for many people.

Thanks to those detailed photos there are no more doubts that Nio is expanding its ET5 range with a good looking wagon. It will be perfect to showcase the company's upcoming 150 kWh battery pack with a claimed 1,000 km of range (NEDC). Even with the smaller battery the car still offers dual-motor 360 kW powertrain that launches it from 0 to 100 km/h in 4 seconds flat - BMW M3 Estate territory.


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Nio’s phone is getting closer to debut according to CEO William Li

During the opening of the latest Nio House in Dongguan in Guangdong province, CEO of the company William Li was present as usual and was sharing updates on the company's future plans and development progress on the upcoming vehicles. William Li tends to be at the openings and gets involved in in-promptu conversations with customers.

The company has confirmed many times before that it is developing its own mobile phone due to Apple not allowing customer’s access to some of its phone’s technology. Android phone owners are not as much disadvantaged but Nio decided that the only way to take full advantage of current technology, the company will need to design its own mobile phone.

According to the conversation William Li had with local Nio owners and potential customers, there is a lot of progress on the phone project. There are two dedicated teams working on it, one is based in Shanghai and the other in Shenzhen. One hint Li dropped was the fact that Android phone users won’t be required to change their phones next year suggesting the Nio phone will be released some time in 2023.

 
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