NIO ET9: the new flagship of the Chinese manufacturer

Coinciding with the NIO Day 2023, the Chinese manufacturer officially unveiled the ET9 last weekend, a new electric model designed to compete in the Premium segment against rivals from prestigious brands such as Porsche or Mercedes-Benz. The brand’s new flagship will reach the Chinese market in early 2025, with a price for the most affordable version of around 800 thousand yuan – just over 100 thousand euros at the current exchange rate.

With more than generous dimensions, exceeding 5 metres in length – 5,325 mm – and two metres in width – 2,016 mm – the ET9 will compete, for example, with the Porsche Panamera, which is even slightly smaller. It is also a direct rival to other Premium models from BMW or Mercedes-Benz. NIO thus aims to expand its market, reaching the highest segments where it was not yet present.

During the presentation of this new electric model, the Chinese manufacturer placed particular emphasis on the spacious interior, comfort and safety offered by the ET9. With a four-seat configuration in two rows, front and rear, NIO offers passengers of this electric model an experience similar to travelling in Business class on a commercial flight. The manufacturer claims to have implemented up to 24 proprietary patents for the second row of seats alone, with innovative features such as backrest adjustment of 45 degrees, or the choice of seven different window shades to enjoy an even greater level of comfort.

With the ET9, NIO aims to demonstrate how far it is capable of going

Based on a 900V architecture, which can reach up to 925V in specific situations, the ET9 is capable of supporting a maximum charging power of 600 kW, with a current intensity of 765A. In this way, at a compatible fast-charging point, it is possible, according to the manufacturer, to increase the range by 255 km in just five minutes. The new flagship of NIO also supports battery swapping, making it possible in this case to leave the service station with a fully charged battery in just 3 minutes.

Alongside the ET9, NIO also used the NIO Day 2023 to unveil the company’s new charging technology, which includes both new liquid-cooled fast chargers capable of delivering up to 640 kW of power, as well as new fourth-generation battery swap stations. NIO states that the latter are compatible not only with NIO vehicles, but also with some from other brands, while also reducing the time needed to complete a battery swap by 22 percent.

The Chinese manufacturer plans to deploy in the more or less near future thousand fourth-generation battery swap stations, as well as 20 thousand new charging points as part of its own network.