Chinese Tesla Rival NIO Debuts 600-Mile Range Electric ET7

Chinese EV maker NIO has unveiled its latest electric sedan, the ET7, months after coming dangerously close to bankruptcy.

Announced by NIO on Saturday, the ET7 integrates an advanced sensor package — with 11 cameras and lidar sensors — seamlessly into its bodywork for its self-driving system.

The company says its new electric vehicle can reach ranges of approximately 600 miles (965 km). 

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Future-proofing the ET7

The Chinese electric automaker is still some way behind Tesla in the race to roll out a fully functioning self-driving software, but the ET7 sure is equipped for the future.

NIO's autonomous driving system is called NAD, which stands for NIO Autonomous Driving. It's made using NIO's Aquila Super Sensing and NIO Adam Super Computer systems.

The car includes "33 high-performance sensing units, including 11 8-megapixel high-resolution cameras, 1 ultralong-range high-resolution LiDAR, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 2 high-precision positioning units, V2X and ADMS," NIO explains in its press release.

600-mile range, flexible buying options

The ET7 also packs a punch in the electric powertrain department: NIO claims that the car's 150-kilowatt-hour battery pack allows it an impressive range of approximately 600 miles.

The ET7's motors, meanwhile, offer a combined output of 644 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque. 

A minimalist interior has an OLED screen as its centerpiece that allows users to interact with the vehicle's Nomi AI.

Currently, NIO only plans to bring the ET7 to Europe and, of course, to its home market of China.

The pre-subsidy price in China for the ET7's Premier Edition is 526,000 yuan (approximately $81,150 USD).

Want a more manageable option? You can pay for the battery in installments via NIO's battery-as-a-service (Baas) program. That's not too bad at all for an EV that reportedly has more range than the Tesla Model S.