The new NIO ET5 was on full display at the 2022 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Auto Show in Shenzhen, China. During the show, NIO released a frunk full of new details on this interesting new Chinese electric car.
NIO will offer three battery options for the new NIO ET5:
Standard range: 75 kWh for 550 kilometer CLTC.
Long range: 100 kWh for 700 kilometer CLTC.
Ultra long range: 150 kWh for 1000 kilometer CLTC.
Price will start at 328.000 yuan ($49.020) for the 75 kWh battery version and 386.000 yuan (57.680) for the 100 kWh battery version. With a battery rental plan called NIO BaaS (battery as a service), prices goes down to 258.000 yuan for both cars. So that seems a very good deal for the 100 kWh version, but the monthly fees differ: 980 yuan and 1,480 yuan respectively. Pricing for the 150 kWh model hasn’t been announced yet.
All version have a twin-motor powertrain. At the front, it has a 150 kW induction motor, and at the rear a 210 kW permanent magnet motor. Combined output is 360 kW hp and 700 Nm. For the 150 kWh model, NIO claims a 0-100 in 4.3 seconds and a 100-0 braking distance of 33.9 meter.
NIO say it developed the 4-piston fixed brake calipers for the ET5 in-house, which is quite rare for a mass market car maker.
NIO has placed the steering gear (green) in front of the driveshaft, as seen here on an inage of the front set-up, without the motor, which normally sits immediately behind the drive shaft. NIO says the placement of the steering gear makes for easier maneuvering in sharp turns. That may be true, but it seems mostly a smart packaging solution; with the steering gear ‘out of the way’ there is more space available for the motor installation.
NIO claims a 50:50 weight distribution ratio, a very low center of gravity at 482.6 millimeter and a wheel track of 1,685 millimeter. The whole setup looks extremely low, especially when see from the front. This indeed, is a great example of the often-mentioned ‘skateboard’ chassis of electric cars.
Since about two years, Chinese car makers compete with one another to see who can come up with the weirdest color names. And apart from the names, car makers also add all sorts of poetic descriptions to these colors. NIO has joined the competition. There are eight colors available. The one of the pic is called ‘First Light Kiss’, and is explained in this way: “Romantic as the pink sheen when the first rays of the sun kiss the clear sky on the Solar De Uyumi in Bolivia.”
Yeah. And they make a mistake. It is Salar De Uyumi, not Solar. The name refers to the Salar De Uyumi salt flat in Bolivia. It is a rather barren place, the only real connection with pink is the rare pink James’s flamingo, a bird, that lives in the area. But NIO mentions no flamingo. Some of the other colors are Sunbathe Yellow (Mellow as the contour of the clouds blended into the gleaming sunrise over the horizon.), Airpace Blue (Deep as the infinity of the universe, kindling curiosity and wonder).
That’s Sunbathe Yellow. I feel so mellow.
The minimalist interior of the NIO ET5, almost too basic for such an otherwise high-tech car. It has a surprisingly large steering wheel, a letterbox instrument panel, a 12.8 inch touch screen in the center, and NIO’s NOMI digital assistant on dash top. NIO calls NOMI an “AI companion” and claims it can be activated by just looking at it, which must mean it is actually looking at you all the time. NIO also says the AI allows for “a free-flow conversation”.
The center console seems a bit gray-plastic on the photo. NIO didn’t open the doors on the show, so perhaps the interior isn’t fully ready yet. There is a large wireless charging pad on the left, a twin-cup holder on the right, and a cool drive-selector on the left, next to the buttons.
The NIO ET5 is a five-seat cars, and, as in so many electric cars, there is a lot of space in the back. Size: 4790/1960/1499, with a 2888 wheelbase.
The ET5 will get the latest version of the NIO Autonomous Driving (NAD) system. The sensor suite is called NIO Aquila Super Sensing. It includes a LiDAR, seven 8 MP high-resolution cameras, four 3 MP light-sensitive surround-view cameras, one ADMS (Advanced Driver Monitoring System(that’s NOMI), five millimeter-wave radars, and 12 ultrasonic sensors. The input of these camera’s is handles by the NIO Adam “supercomputer” that can process 8GB of image data per second.
Note the LiDar above the windshield, flanked by two high-resolution cameras.
The ET5 is the first NIO that will be manufactured at NIO’s new fully owned ‘NeoPark’ factory in Hefei, Anhui province. The NIO ET5 seems to be an impressive package with a shipload of tech on board, enough power, and a good range. The interior, however, is slightly underwhelming, but NIO is likely still working on that.
The technology of this car is respectable, however this car seems to be pretty thirsty. Compared to BYD Seal this can only go 700km CLTC with 100kWh , while the Seal can go 650km CLTC with a 82,6 kWh battery.
The NIO costumers probably don’t really care, because this car wants to portray luxury and prestige and not energy efficiency
NIO is TARGETTING the LUXURY market and clients. The main selling of NIO is its Customer Support and Service. NIO House, NIO Financing, NIO S/H car sales, etc. NIO is going to MATCH Mercedes, BMW, AUDI , etc in the Luxury sector. The NAME is the BRAND. And it gives it a PREMIUM over others. BYD is more … Associated to the MASS market. Just like Mercedes Vs Toyota !!!