It took a while, but China finally presented its new SUV. In an effort to curb the advance of Elon Musk’s cars in the world’s most populous country, NIO, it is a European startup based in Europe and the United States. This will be the third SUV, along with ES6 and ES8.
Being subsidized by the Beijing government, the automaker entered the market at a competitive price. The SUV has prices starting at 448,000 yuan, or $223,000. If it’s not that cheap, at least it comes at half the price of the Tesla Model X, offered for 836,000 yuan, or $416,000. The ES8 is an electric car with futuristic lines and which, in design terms, owes nothing to Silicon Valley X models. In addition to accommodating seven people, the customizable SUV will leave the factory with front and rear electric motors capable of sending an impressive 652 hp and 85.6 kgfm to all four wheels. All of this enables the big guy to reach 100 km/h in the smallest 4.4 seconds.
The suspension is active. In terms of technology, the beautiful model features an artificial intelligence system called NOMI, responsible for regulating cabin temperature and providing communication between man and machine, even taking pictures of the occupants. The utility measures over 5.0 meters in length, has an approximate width of 2.0 meters, and a wheelbase of 3.01 meters. One of the highlights is the possibility of replacing the battery in three minutes, according to NIO.
The 70-watt battery is liquid-cooled and has a life of two thousand charges. The declared range is 500 kilometers at a constant speed of 60 km/h. Its drag coefficient is 0.29, very good for a crossover. The two most eye-catching technological developments are: The “NIO Pilot” driver assistance system, consisting of 23 sensors including a front-facing three-way camera, four external surround cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors, and a driver-monitoring camera. Along with its processing power: The “Mobileye EyeQ4” hardware and software package has eight times the computing power of its predecessors.
NIO is among several startups that emerged in China after applying incentives to electric car manufacturers.