Electric NIO ET7 REVEALED – up to 644bhp, 620 mile range and prices from £51k

The Electric NIO ET7 is revealed ahead of a 2022 debut offering up to 644bhp, a 620 mile range and prices starting from around £51,000.

NIO is one of those start-up electric car makers which looked to be full of promise, but not really delivering. But with new money onboard it looks set to become the ‘Chinese Tesla’ in the coming years.

Ahead of a debut in 2022, NIO has revealed the NIO ET7 – an electric saloon car about the size of a BMW 7 Series – which promises to out-Tesla Tesla with high power, long range and a promising price structure.

Built on a lightweight aluminium and steel chassis, the ET7 comes with a 241bhp permanent magnet electric motor at the front and a 402bhp induction motor at the back for a total of 644bhp and the promise of 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds.

Set to be offered with three battery sizes, the entry-level 70kWh delivers a 310-mile range, the 100kWh 435 miles and the 150kWh (which will arrive later and perhaps as a solid-state offering) a huge 621 miles, although the figures are China’s NEDC so probably a chunk less on the WLTP test. NIO are also offering a battery swap setup so owners can upgrade when they wish.

There’s masses of tech on offer including, when allowed, autonomous driving with 33 sensing units built in using advanced processing with huge data throughput, and big screens inside as you’d expect.

Due to launch in 2022 in China – although NIO say the ET7 is built to pass Euro tests and is probably heading for Europe – it will initially be available with 70kWh and 100kWh battery options (the probably solid-sate 150kWh will arrive by the end of 2022) at prices starting from around £51k.