Chinese EV maker Nio set to reveal first electric sedan on January 9

KUALA LUMPUR: Nio, a Chinese EV startup and Tesla rival is again making the headlines in the global automotive industry and this time for its upcoming flagship EV sedan. The brand has announced that during its annual NIO Day event, to be held on January 09, 2021,  it will unveil the new model. Although this would not be the first time we are going to see it; Nio has already showcased the EV as a concept named ‘NIO ET Preview concept’ at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2019.

The automaker also released a teaser of the production-spec Nio sedan on its social media accounts, showing the upper half of the profile of the model. Going by the teaser, we can say that the exterior of the sleek sedan does not stray much from the concept vehicle, which bears the brand’s signature front fascia with slim headlights and a familiar bumper. The other styling highlights of the concept version are long and smooth side lines, flush door handles, a low-slung, flowing roofline, and an aerodynamic body.

If we talk about the technical details, the concept car was powered by an electric powertrain generating an output of 299 PS with a driving range of up to 510 km. It had a carbon-fiber battery pack with NCM811 nickel-cobalt-manganese technology. For the production version, Nio says that the ET will be equipped with a 150-kWh battery pack and the latest autonomous driving technologies. The said battery pack seems to be the biggest battery in a passenger car ever, thus the range could lie somewhere between 600-800 km. Nio’s ongoing SUVs come with a 100-kWh battery.

Earlier there were speculations that Nio's sedan would be pitched against the Tesla Model S, but now some reports suggest that it would go up against an even higher-class, full-size F-segment sedan, the BMW 7 Series. But what exactly it targets, will be revealed in the coming days.

Not only this, but the Chinese manufacturer is also set to unveil its second-generation battery-pack swap station and some "other core technologies" at the NIO Day event.

Also read: Tesla updates the Model 3, gets enhanced performance, new features & colour options