Author: Knight Errant

Yesterday evening, the new ES7 model of NIO was officially launched, with three models priced between RMB 4.68 million and RMB 5.48 million. Currently, the ES7 model on the market will be equipped with two types of batteries: 75kWh and 100kWh, with a maximum range of 485km and 620km under CLTC conditions, respectively.

NIO’s battery leasing program, which was first created, is still applicable to the ES7. According to the official purchase policy, the 70kWh model’s battery pack BaaS plan starts at RMB 3.98 million, with a monthly battery leasing fee of RMB 980; the 100kWh battery pack BaaS plan has a pre-subsidy price of RMB 3.98 million, with a monthly battery leasing fee of RMB 1680; the first edition BaaS plan starts at RMB 4.2 million, with a monthly battery leasing fee of RMB 1680.

From the model name, it can be inferred that the ES7 is positioned between the ES6 and ES8. The specific dimensions are 4912/1987/1720mm, with a wheelbase of 2960mm, making it a mid-to-large-sized pure electric SUV with 5 seats. Like NIO ET7 and NIO ET5, the ES7 is built on NIO’s latest NT2.0 platform. Therefore, ES7’s design style is more similar to ET7 and ET5 sedans than the previous ES6 and ES8 models.

The ES7 not only retains the X-Bar design language’s closed front grille and split headlights, but also features a through-type taillight and a “lookout tower” sensor installed on the roof, consisting of a laser radar and camera, providing support for the car’s advanced driver-assistance system.

In terms of details, the electric suction door is standard in the ES7. Cameras have been added to the top of the tail and both sides of the wheel eyebrow, which can make the car’s blind spots smaller than placing cameras on the rearview mirror. Additionally, the charging port of the new car is still located on the front fender, which may cause inconvenience. However, due to the constraints of global cars and official architecture, compromises have to be made.

Entering the ES7 cabin, its style is generally similar to the ET7, but due to the difference between sedans and SUVs, the official also made special adjustments for the ES7, mainly enhancing the sense of hierarchy. For example, the upper part (instrument panel, steering wheel, center screen) is mainly for functional operation, while the lower part such as ambient lighting and different materials splicing is for improving the sense of atmosphere.

In terms of deeper design, the ES7 is equipped with the Pano-Cinema panoramic digital cabin as standard, which includes 23 speakers, 256-color waterfall atmosphere lights, and AR/VR virtual reality technology, and uses renewable rattan wood trim with special texture, with delicate and smooth touch. The seat cushions and backrests of the entire vehicle use high-rebound double-layer foaming, ensuring both comfort and support.

In terms of comfort configuration, the front seats of the ES7 support 14-way electric adjustment and seat memory, the headrests support 4-way adjustment, and the main driver seat supports a 60mm amplitude roller blind-style seat extension; the second row seats support 6-way electric adjustment, the headrests support 2-way adjustment, and the seat backs support a large range of 23°~31° infinite electric adjustment. The front seats are equipped with heating, ventilation, and massage functions, while the rear seats are equipped with heating and seat soothing functions.

The emergence of the NT2.0 platform not only means that the lidar and periscope cameras will become the symbols of NIO’s highest-level assisted driving system, but also the latest NIO Aquila super-sensing system has 10 more hardware sensors than the NT1.0 platform. Specific sensors include 1 lidar, 7 ADS cameras, 4 surround view cameras, 5 millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, 2 high-precision positioning units, 1 vehicle-to-infrastructure sensor, and 1 enhanced driver perception.

Cooperating with the hardware is the latest NIO Adam supercomputing platform, including four NVIDIA Drive Orin chips for assisted driving, with a computing power of 1016TOPS, and the use of the Qualcomm 8155 chip for the intelligent cockpit. In other words, the ES7 is currently the SUV model with the highest degree of NIO’s intelligence.

On the power side, the ES7 adopts NIO’s second-generation electric drive system, with a front and rear dual-motor four-wheel drive layout. The front motor is a 180kW silicon carbide permanent magnet motor, and the rear motor is a 300kW induction motor. The system can reach a torque of up to 850N·m, with an acceleration of 3.9 seconds for 0-100 km/h, a top speed of 200 km/h, and a braking distance of 33.9 meters.

According to NIO’s plan, the ES7 is equipped with 400V high-voltage fast charging technology, and when the infrastructure is significantly improved in the future, the charging experience will be even better. However, compared to high-voltage fast charging, the ES7 model with a 150 kWh battery pack and a range of 930 km under CLTC conditions seems more noteworthy in the future.

Overall, the ES7’s product power has far surpassed the ES6 and ES8, but this is not surprising since the newly empowered platform should bring a leap in quality. Of course, aside from what’s on paper, we still need to wait for the actual car to know about the specific experience of the ES7, so it’s not recommended that everyone rush to buy it without further information.

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.