Walking fast toward electric powered vehicles, Chinese carmakers are in a heist to provide global market with their definition of Electric Autonomous Vehicles. NIO is one of these Chinese electric car makers that was first introduce to the world back in 2014. The brand is also involved in FIA Formula E championship racing series. The involvement helped NIO to release one limited production electric-powered two-door two-seater sports car called EP9 with the direct help of the Formula E division.
NIO has already offered a couple of production and concept models and tries to support consumers through fast services and battery swap capabilities. Based on NIO.com the current models are ES8, ES6 and EC6, all Crossover SUVs.
NIO ES8 is a 5-door full-size SUV seating 7 passengers on its 3010mm advertised wheelbase as the longest in its class. NIO ES8 is totally a new vehicle. In order to evaluate the standards, economy and performance it was put to thousands of miles of road testing in china. The electric powertrain of NIO ES8 is developed by TATA Technologies while NIO also cooperates with German company, Bosch.
NIO ES8 is offered with three different power packages of 70, 84 and 100 kWh of Lithium-Ion battery packs. The New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) range for the most powerful 100kWh battery pack of NIO ES8 is said to be 580 kilometers (362 miles) while the vehicle is capable of reaching 60 mph from a dead stop just in 4.9 seconds.
It is hard not to mention that almost all new electric vehicle out there especially those coming from China, are motivated by Tesla models mostly in interior design elements, NIO ES8 is no exception here. The interior is filled with electric techs including three distinctive LCD displays
One 9.8-inche full digital instrument cluster along with another 11.3-inch Tesla-inspired second generation multi-touch center display comes standard in NIO ES8. A world’s first circular AMOLED display is also offered inside solely dedicated to NOMI Mate 2.0 In-Car AI system which provides necessary information by relating to driver based on emotional monitoring and computing capabilities.
It is always difficult to find some easy information regarding vehicles and models in Chinese websites especially if it is the pricing range. The retail pricing of NIO ES8 is said to be 448,000 yuan which translates to about 64,000 USD, challenging the 836,000 yuan (118,000 USD) Tesla Model X. Pricing of NIO ES8 is roughly half of Tesla Model X but considering performance, production quality and long-term longevity, is NIO ES8 really up to the task?
I believed that NIO will surpass any EV brands in performance, design, durability and technology
The ES8 is a beauty, Excellent build quality from what I can tell. Unmatched in warranty, & the only manufacturer to use Aircraft grade aluminum on the entire body. Awesome tech, interior, & never having to worry about battery degradation..Ever!! NIO all for a decent price.. I hope that they come to N.America soon..