NIO launches ES8 battery-electric SUV; battery rental and swapping; NIO Pilot; base price $67.7K
18 December 2017
NIO officially launched the ES8 7-seat, 3-row (2-3-2) battery-electric SUV at an event in Beijing. The NIO ES8 has a base price of RMB 448,000 (US$67,700) before subsidies, with 10,000 Founder’s Editions available for RMB 548,000 (US$82,800).
A battery rental plan is available to NIO users, which provides a RMB 100,000 (US$15,000) discount on the purchase price of the ES8. The battery rental subscription is RMB 1,280 (US$193) per month and enables ES8 owners to enjoy battery upgrading services, along with quality assurance, roadside assistance, car connectivity, and nationwide charging services. The NIO ES8 is customized and will be made to order. Those interested in purchasing an ES8 can place an order through the NIO App.
With both front and rear motors, the NIO ES8 delivers 480 kW of power and 840 N·m (620 lb-ft) of torque to all four wheels. This E-powertrain enables the ES8 to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. All ES8 models feature an active air suspension.
The ES8 is equipped with a 70 kWh liquid-cooled battery pack comprising prismatic cell batteries with a 2,000-charge lifecycle. The ES8’s drag coefficient is as low as 0.29. The ES8 achieves more than 500 kilometers (311 miles) of range when constantly run at 60 kph, and the car achieves an NEDC range of 355 kilometers (221 miles).
The ES8 is the first car to have an all-aluminum body and chassis featuring aerospace grade 7003 series aluminum alloy, enabling a high torsional stiffness of 44,140 Nm/deg. NIO says that the ES8 features the highest amount of aluminum for any mass production car.
Magna announced that it is providing the aluminum front sub-frame and rear cradle, the gearboxes for both e-drive systems and the latching system for the side doors and hood for the NIO ES8.
With its passive safety design and 21 active safety features, the ES8 stands out among vehicles in its class.
The ES8 is produced at a fully automated factory. The ES8 will finish a 3,000,000 km road test before NIO begins delivering the vehicle to users.
The ES8 has a 3,010 millimeter long wheelbase, the longest in its class. The three-row, seven-seat layout makes full use of the interior space. The “lounge seat” and “child-care mode”, together with the Nappa leather wrap, creates a cozy atmosphere. The smart air quality system includes an activated carbon and HEPA filter and negative ion generator.
NIO Pilot. NIO also launched NIO Pilot, its advanced driver assistance system. NIO PILOT is enabled by 23 sensors, including a trifocal front-facing camera, four surround exterior cameras, five millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and a driver monitor camera. The ES8 is also the first vehicle to come equipped with the Mobileye EyeQ4, which has a computation capacity nine-times more powerful than its predecessors. NIO PILOT’s software and hardware suite enables subscribers to enjoy upgraded services through FOTA updates.
NIO also introduced NOMI, an in-car AI system. Powered by both in-car and cloud computation, NOMI combines the ES8’s intelligence and car connectivity functionalities to turn the ES8 into a fun, expressive, and intuitive companion that can listen, talk, and help drivers along the way.
NIO Power. NIO Power allows the ES8’s battery to be swapped in three minutes. NIO Power also includes NIO Power Home, super charger network, and Power Mobile. Power Mobile, developed by NIO, enables an ES8 to run 100 kilometers after charging for ten minutes. By 2020, NIO plans to build more than 1,100 Power Swap Stations and deploy more than 1,200 Power Mobile vehicles.
Powered by big data and cloud services, NIO’s power cloud connects each of the super chargers, power swap stations, NIO Mobile vehicles, battery pack, ES8, NIO Specialist and NIO’s user. The same mobile connectivity is also applied to vehicle services. NIO’s services cloud also integrates each of the NIO House, repair center, delivery center, service car, ES8, NIO Specialist and NIO user.
NIO announced a strategic partnership with JD and SF Express to provide NIO users with in-car delivery services.
NIO has opened NIO Houses in Beijing, and plans to open more NIO Houses in nine more cities in 2018, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Hefei, Suzhou and Wuhan.
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