Author: Wu Yuchen

On Christmas Eve, as scheduled, NIO held its 2022 NIO Day, at which Li Bin brought two new cars to NIO owners: the brand-new ES8 and its second SUV model, EC7 Coupe. He also introduced the third-generation power swapping station and 500 kW ultra-fast charging station. Let’s take a quick look at them all.

First, let’s talk about an Easter egg. When Li Bin was talking about the center console of ES8 second row, the mobile phone used for wireless charging in the screen was emphasized to be “Nio Phone”. He further added that there will be many exclusive functions between the phone and the vehicle in the future. It seems that we can look forward to next year’s NIO DAY.

The Brand-new ES8

• As the final highlight, the price range of the brand-new ES8 will be from CNY 528,000 to CNY 638,000, and it will be officially delivered in June 2023.

• A total of 5 configurations will be launched, with a suggested retail price of CNY 528,000 for the standard version (75 kWh) and CNY 586,000 for the 100 kWh version. The purchase prices of the two models with battery rental plans are CNY 458,000, and the monthly battery fees are CNY 980 and CNY 1,680, respectively.

The executive version will be priced at CNY 548,000 (75 kWh) and CNY 606,000 (100 kWh), and the purchase prices of the two models with battery rental plans are both CNY 478,000, with the same monthly battery fee as the standard version.

The Signature Edition will be sold at a price of CNY 638,000 (100 kWh). The purchase price with battery rental plan is CNY 510,000, and the monthly battery fee is CNY 1,680.

• The appearance adopts NIO’s second-generation design language, and all cameras use an externally mounted platform or design. The roof position is also equipped with an observation deck-style Lidar.- The length, width, and height are 5099/1989/1750 millimeters, and the wheelbase is 3070 millimeters. Compared to the old ES8, the length increased by 77mm, and the wheelbase increased by 60mm.

• It offers seven exterior colors, including Aurora Gold as the NIO’s 2023 Annual Color, and Starry Green as the exclusive color for the new ES8.

• The interior features a floating center control screen and a full LCD instrument panel. It natively supports AR/VR video output and comes with an N-BOX entertainment system as standard.

• The Enhanced 7.1.4 Immersive Audio System has a power output of up to 2230 watts, with 23 top-notch material speakers, including high-power bass and four 3D speakers.

• The car uses a 2+2+2 six-seat layout. The third-row seats adopt a sofa-style design and support seat heating and electric adjustment. To enhance the space utilization of the car interior, the central armrest of the front row adopts a suspended design, and the design of the passenger side armrest box has been removed.

• In terms of power, it will be equipped with a front and rear dual-motor four-wheel drive system with a comprehensive power of 480 kW and a peak torque of 850 Nm. The official 0-100 km / h acceleration time is 4.1 seconds.

• In terms of endurance, the new car will provide power battery capacities of 75 kWh, 100 kWh, and 150 kWh, corresponding to CLTC endurance ranges of 465 km, 605 km, and 900 km.

EC7

• NIO has launched its second Coupe SUV, which is also the first Coupe SUV built on the NT2 platform after EC6. The new car will begin delivery in May 2023.

• Equipped with the second-generation design language of NIO, the new car is also equipped with observation-style LiDAR and cameras designed based on the “Design for AD” concept.

• The price range is from CNY 488,000 to CNY 578,000. If adopting the BaaS battery rental scheme, the price will range from CNY 418,000 to CNY 450,000, and the monthly fee for the battery is CNY 980/1680.

• The length, width and height are 4968/1974/1714 mm, and the wheelbase is 2960 mm. The drag coefficient of the whole vehicle is only 0.23.

• The car’s tail is equipped with an active lifting tail wing and a hidden high-level brake light with a length of up to 400 mm. It is designed with a seven-link and mirror image wing, and has two modes: manual and automatic, with two gears: drag reduction and extreme speed. The drag reduction mode can reduce 4% of the aerodynamic resistance, and the extreme speed mode can increase the maximum downforce of 650N.

• The car adopts panoramic glass roof, which can improve the sound insulation effect by 10% and the UV blocking rate can reach 99.9%. The car can also be equipped with intelligent dimming panoramic sunroof. For the first time in the world, black-gray neutral base color is adopted in electrochromic glass sunroof.

• The car adopts a 5-seat layout. The front driver seat provides 16-way electric adjustment, the front passenger seat supports 18-way electric adjustment, the left rear seat supports 10-way electric adjustment, and the right rear seat supports 8-way electric adjustment. The car uses integrated sport seats.

• The cutting-edge eco-technology materials, Haptex synthetic leather and Microfiber ultra-fine fiber, are all made from the latest biomaterials.

• In terms of power, it is equipped with a front and rear dual-motor four-wheel-drive system, with a comprehensive output power of 480 kilowatts, a comprehensive torque of 850 Newton-meters, and a 0-100 kilometers/hour acceleration time of 3.8 seconds, making it the fastest accelerating SUV in NIO. The braking distance is only 33.9 meters per hundred kilometers, equipped with Brembo six-piston calipers and 380mm large-diameter perforated ventilated brake discs, and the anti-heat attenuation performance is fully improved.

• In terms of endurance, it also offers three types of battery packs:75 kilowatt-hours, 100 kilowatt-hours, and 150 kilowatt-hours, corresponding to CLTC working conditions endurance of 490 kilometers, 635 kilometers, and 940 kilometers.

NIO The Third Generation Battery Swap Station

• The number of battery pack reserves has increased to 21, and the battery-swapping time has been shortened by 20%. The daily service frequency can reach 408 times, an improvement of 30% compared to the second-generation station. It will be deployed from March 2023.

• Equipped with two laser radars and two NVIDIA Orin X chips, the single station calculation power can reach 508TOPS.

• Multiple cars cannot be swapped simultaneously, and users still need to wait in line.

NIO 500 kW Fast Charging Station

• The maximum charging power can reach 500kW, and the maximum charging current is 660 amps.

• It adopts NIO’s self-developed liquid-cooled charging gun wire, with greatly reduced weight, which can be operated with one hand, making the user experience more convenient.### Conclusion

After five years, as the pioneer of NIO, ES8 has completed its update in the end of 2022. With a total delivery of 65233 units, ES8, along with NIO, marched into more fields.

Tomorrow, we will also release the first-hand experience of ES8 and EC7, as well as on-site reports from NIO Day. Stay tuned.

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.