It might not have the flair or panache of a Model X, but three-year-old Chinese EV startup NIO has just launched its ES8 SUV with a range of 311 miles and a price point at nearly half of what a Model X costs in China.
The NIO ES8 is available for 448,000 yuan ($67,783), while the Tesla Model X goes for 836,000 yuan.
More than the price, it’s the range that’s drawing all the attention. A 300-mile-plus range on an SUV is something only a company like Tesla can even think of at this point, and NIO already has this car in production and ready for sales just three years after forming the company.
Formerly known as NextEV, the Tencent-backed NIO is one of many Chinese EV startups incentivized by the Chinese government to create more momentum in the local EV market, which is already the largest in the world, having overtaken the United States last year.
According to the Global EV Outlook 2017 report by the International Energy Agency, China was responsible for 40% of global electric car sales in 2016, selling double the number of EVs sold in the United States.
China is also the global leader in other types of electrified transportation, having more than 200 million electric two-wheelers, 3 to 4 million low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs) and more than 300 thousand electric buses.
The ES8 SUV from NIO can do 0-100 km/h (0-62mph) in 4.4 seconds. The Tesla Model X P100D does that in under 3 seconds.
But NIO is not after merely impressing customers with flashy performance. What they’re after is volume, and that’s something Tesla really can’t compete with at this point in time, considering their production bottlenecks and Model 3 commitments.
Another angle NIO is going after is convenience. By 2020, NIO is planning to build 1,100 battery swapping stations and deploy more than 1,200 “Power Mobile” service vehicles.
The battery swap will take 3 minutes, and the station itself can be built in as little as a day. The Power Mobile units will take power to where the customer is, making it extremely convenient.
NIO also plans a ton of freebies like free roadside assistance.
The ES8 uses NOMI, an AI system that controls several functions in the car, including taking photos and climate control. It also sports the EyeQ4 chip from Mobileye, the global leader in Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS). In short, the chip behind one of the most advanced self-driving systems in the world.
Apart from Tencent, the company is also backed by the second-biggest institutional investor in Tesla Motors, Baillie Gifford & Co., as well as Lone Pine Capital LLC, CITIC Capital Holdings Ltd. and China Asset Management Co.
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