It's no secret that Tesla has a tough competitor in China known as NIO and the company just unveiled an impressive electric sedan in the NIO ET7. The newly revealed EV easily catches the eyes thanks to its stunning engineering and the technology features that promise a unique driving experience similar to that of Tesla.
The ingenuity of the ET7 bodywork is nothing short of incredible. NIO sprinkled the modern car with numerous sensors and cameras to support its range of smart and safety features but the automaker swears the hardware for this will be hardly noticeable.
That's because the sensors are seamlessly integrated into the ET7 body, which is NIO declaring they too can assemble a beautiful beast of the future.
Setting aside the ET7's deliberate gorgeous design for now, NIO wants to draw attention to the electric car's powerful features and functionalities. The EV's dual-motor drivetrain will source its power juice from a 150kWh battery pack (for the most expensive version), which is estimated to deliver a driving range of over 500 miles per charge, according to Electrek.
The Chinese automaker said in a statement: "The ET7 has inherited NIO's high-performance DNA with a 180kW permanent magnet motor in the front and a 300kW induction motor in the rear. Maximum power is rated at 480kW with peak torque at 850N·m. The ET7 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds, and has a braking distance from 100 km/h of 33.5 m."
It can be said that the powerful NIO ET7 is a notable upgrade, in terms of range coverage, when compared with the Tesla Model S and Lucid Air.
And there is a reason the NIO ET7 is deployed with 33 sensors and 11 smart cameras. The package is all about autonomous driving, meaning the NIO sedan is a platform designed for users to experience hands-free car navigation. However, how exactly this ET7 feature, dubbed by NIO as NAD (NIO Autonomous Driving) covers the whole range of self-driving remains to be seen.
Going by NIO's projections, the ET7 delivery will start in the first quarter of 2022 for the Chinese market and then in select European nations. There is no indication yet if the EV will reach the United States but that is likely to happen for the future iterations of the electric sedan.
The starting price for the NIO ET7 is roughly $81,000 and CNET said it's quite reasonable considering the impressive range and modern functionalities packed with the car. It should be noted that advertised pricing has yet to factor in government incentives, which points to a significant discount.
The NIO ET7 will be made available too bundled with a subscription for battery services and autonomous driving, which the automaker said will further reduce the initial cost of owning the electric vehicle.
