The Chinese company NIO, formerly known as NextEV, has launched its first production model to the Asian market. This is the N8 ES8, a fully electric SUV with capacity for seven passengers that arises to rival the Tesla Model X with a decisive argument: the price.

The NIO SUV arrives with a starting price of 448,000 yuan in China, about 57,450 euros a change, which is practically half of the cost of the Tesla Model X, its most direct rival (836,000 yuan). But what does it offer in return?

It must be taken into account that it assembles 70 kW batteries, which gives it a range of 355 km according to the NEDC cycle, a figure significantly lower than the aforementioned Model X-; although, the entity includes a great novelty in order to counteract it: an interchangeable battery.

In this way, the driver can replace the spent battery with another one with the full charge, a process that is completed in just three minutes after going to one of the 1,100 stations dedicated to this function, called Power Swap Stations, which the brand has planned to own in China by 2020. The subscription to this service will cost about 1,200 yuan (153 euros) per month.

On the other hand, NIO will offer an assistance service, known as ‘Power Mobile’, capable of providing vehicles with 100 km of autonomy after ten minutes of charging.

In the section of motorization, it has two electric power units arranged in two axes that together offer an energy equivalent to 644 HP of power. The 0-100 km / h completes it in 4.4 seconds.

In addition, it has a “complete advanced driver assistance system” named NIO Pilot, which is powered by five cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and five radars.

For its part, the NOMI artificial intelligence system allows the vehicle to interact with the driver during the journeys, providing voice prompts.

The arrival of NIO ES8 occurs three years after the company was founded. However, after receiving financial support from various entities, among which is in Tencent giant, has managed to raise more than 1,000 million dollars of funding at the same time that has left patent all its potential during the gestation of its first SUV. So much so that his model NIO EP9 was consolidated last March as the fastest autonomous car and electric in the world, and has already revealed the concept of the smart car that will launch in 2020, NIO EVE.

Ecomotor.es – 12/19/2017  (Translation Soft)