A view of Nio's ET5 sedan Photo: Courtesy of Nio

China's leading electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio unveiled a new smart electric sedan on Saturday, pricing the new model lower than its existing SUV models, reshaping the competition landscape of domestic EV market as the new sedan may challenge mainstream products by US giant Tesla and domestic rival brand XPeng.

The Nio ET5 is priced at 328,000 yuan ($51,460) before subsidies, and 258,000 yuan with BaaS (Battery-as-a-Service). Delivery is expected to begin from September next year.

At present, there are several popular models such as Tesla's Model 3, XPeng's P7 and Zeekr 001 that fall into the 200,000 to 300,000-yuan price bracket. The EV market competition is bound to be more intense in 2022 and beyond, industry observers said.

The ET5, the fifth model launched by Nio, features augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. Nio has partnered with NREAL, an innovative AR device company, to jointly develop AR glasses exclusive to Nio, which can project an effective screen size of 201-inch at 6 meters. The auto firm has also collaborated with Nolo to jointly develop the Nio VR Glasses, realizing binocular 4K display effect.

In respect to driving range, the ET5's range can reach more than 550 kilometers with a 75-kilowatt-hour (kWh) standard range battery, 700 kilometers with the 100-kWh long range battery, or more than 1,000 kilometers with the 150-kWh ultralong range battery.

Meanwhile, Nio announced that orders for the ET7, its mid-large smart electric flagship sedan, will begin on January 20, 2022, with delivery commencing from March 28, 2022. 

The soon-to-arrive ET7 is widely believed to be tailor-made to challenge Tesla's Model S sedan, according to market analysts.

The year of 2021 marked Nio's first step into the global market. After entering Norway, Nio CEO and founder Willian Li said on Saturday the firm will introduce its products and holistic service system to Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark in 2022. By 2025, Nio will establish its presence in over 25 countries and regions worldwide.

The Chinese EV maker delivered 10,878 vehicles in November 2021, a new monthly record. In the first 11 months this year, delivery has reached 80,940 vehicles, representing year-on-year growth of 120.4 percent. 

Global Times