Author: Chang Yan
The ET5 frenzy of NIO is finally coming to an end.
Recently, NIO has held an ET5 workshop, which revealed many details about the model that were not mentioned in the model confirmation and launch event.
Reasons for designing the ET5:
- NIO aims to build a car for young people.
- The mid-size luxury car is a very large segment of the market.
- Many NIO car owners expressed the need for a smaller car that is single-person friendly and convenient, especially for women.
ET5’s three major features: design, NAD, and PanoCinema.
Design, the most elegant and pure curve of a sports car.
This project began in early 2020 when Li Bin asked the design team what the smallest, most pure car they could create around their battery swapping system would look like.
What’s even cooler is that they have turned explicit design elements into a flatter, more digital appearance, such as the double-dash daytime running lights.
According to the latest five-star safety standards in Europe and China, the current shark nose complies with the most stringent safety standards.
The shoulders of the entire vehicle are downward-pressed to create a sense of power.
The ducktail design posed a challenge because the car is designed to drive on the limitless German highways where a balance between aerodynamics and stability is required, and without sufficient space for airflow, it would not work. They spent three months creating six versions of the ducktail design.
The taillights were also made with shadowing to complement the appearance of the front lights.
The interior design emphasizes a strong sense of embrace.
Without a sense of embrace, the interior would look disjointed and leave people with a cheap feeling. Every part that one’s feet and hand touches is soft to the touch, and the team made sure to avoid the sensation of touching solely industrial plastic.
Moreover, to reduce monotony, they also added subtle stitching in many places.
The surface feels is made from over 20 different materials and the team picked the material that was the most similar to human skin.
NAD
PanoCinema panoramic digital cockpit.
The ambient lighting of ET5 has a collision color effect, with 256 color options in each position, and the possibility of OTA upgrades.
7.1.4 audio system is standard, because the intelligent cockpit cannot let everyone not know where the numbers come from, this will become the standard for all NIO models after ET5.
The first native VR/AR experiential designed model.
The birth of ET5 also marks the comprehensive entry of NIO into the high-end sedan market.
NIO also provided detailed explanations for the most concerned issues in the workshop:
1. How to view the competition with Model 3?
Compared with Model 3 Dual Motor version, it has good value for money, provides different styles of interior, and provides bigger standard wheels.
2. Why a five-link suspension system?
Provide a larger tuning space for the whole vehicle, and greater engineering freedom. Long control arms are equivalent to two links, virtual ballheads provide greater space, and the distance from the tire center to the brake pedal is closer, and the front cockpit can be more arched to accommodate more design elements.
3. Why not a hatchback design?
The hinge of the hatchback design will have a relatively large impact on the headroom in the rear row. The rear hinges of the ET5 are also spray-painted and the color is fixed.
4. How is the rear space of the car?
The rear space has reached the level of current BMW extended models.
5. Can the rear seats be folded down?
Yes, they can.
6. How was the power of 150 kW and 210 kW considered?
Currently, the main orientation is rear-wheel drive. A better energy consumption permanent magnet motor is placed at the rear. Whether this powertrain will be used in other models depends on the long-term planning.
7. Are there any improvements to the electric drive system?
Specialized thermal management has been developed for the batteries and systems of each vehicle.
8. Does the car have a front trunk?
No, mainly due to considerations of legroom. We also considered that the trunk is electrically opened, but the front trunk is manual, which would be weird.
9. How is the gap between the battery and the rear subframe handled?
It’s not convenient to share at the moment.
10. The advantages and disadvantages of self-developed brake calipers versus Brembo?Translated English Markdown Text:
In terms of performance, it has reached the same level as Brembo. We can better consider the user’s needs in the development process, which has many benefits for our systematic product development.
11. Will the weight of a larger battery pack affect the vehicle’s posture?
We will know the weight range of the battery pack in advance, and we will choose the appropriate model in the spring selection. In addition, the battery density is also changing and will not keep getting heavier due to increased capacity.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.