Chinese electric vehicle startup NIO, formerly known as NextEV, has launched its first production vehicle, the all-electric NIO ES8 SUV.
With 220 miles of range, fast charging that will recharge the battery entirely in one hour, battery pack swapping capabilities for thee-minute refueling and more, the NIO ES8, which starts at 448,000 Chinese yuan (about $68,000) before subsidies, is half the starting price of Tesla’s 836,000 yuan (about $126,500) Model X in China.
A battery rental plan is available to NIO users, which provides a 100,000 Chinese yuan (about $15,000) discount on the purchase price of the ES8. The battery rental subscription is 1,280 Chinese yuan (about $190) per month and enables ES8 owners to enjoy battery upgrading services, along with quality assurance, roadside assistance, car connectivity, and nationwide charging services. The NIO ES8 is customized and will be made to order. Those interested in purchasing an ES8 can place an order through the NIO App.
The ES8 is equipped with a 70-kilowatt-hour liquid-cooled battery pack comprised of cutting-edge VDA square cell batteries. These cells feature the highest energy density of their kind and provide a 2,000-charge lifecycle. The ES8’s drag coefficient is as low as 0.29. The ES8 achieves over 500 kilometers (310 miles) of range when constantly run at 60 km/h (37 mph), and the car achieves an NEDC range of 355 kilometers (220 miles).
Powered by big data and cloud services, NIO’s power cloud connects each of the super chargers, power swap stations, NIO Mobile vehicles, battery pack, ES8, NIO Specialist and NIO’s user. As a result, NIO’s users can enjoy worry-free power services with just one click. The same mobile connectivity is also applied to vehicle services. NIO’s services cloud also integrates each of the NIO House, repair center, delivery center, service car, ES8, NIO Specialist and NIO user to provide worry-free services.
NIO also announces a strategic partnership with JD and SF Express to provide NIO users with in-car delivery services.
NIO has opened NIO Houses in Beijing, and announces their plan to open more NIO Houses in nine more cities in 2018, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Hefei, Suzhou and Wuhan.