Author: Qian Jialing
What did the editor do in NIO Day2022? They visited the charity market, experienced NIO’s AR exhibition booth, tried NIO Cafe, listened to performances by Huang Yida, Li Ronghao, and NIO Band, and witnessed the upgrade of the brand-new ES8 and the release of the EC7 by NIO.
The brand-new ES8 is expected to be delivered in June next year, and the EC7 is expected to be delivered in May next year. With the layout promotion of third-generation power swapping stations and the release of two new vehicles, NIO is operating like a tiger. It seems that there will be great pressure on production capacity next year!
The brand-new NIO ES8: What’s New?
Previously, some information about the new NIO ES8 was shared with everyone. Unlike before, the ES8 is now only available in the 6-seat version, and the 7-seat version has been cancelled. Let’s first take a look at the prices of different versions.
It is worth mentioning that NIO has adopted a brand-new self-developed seat frame platform this time, which can achieve adjustments in details such as shoulder adjustment. The modular seat platform is suitable for most models under NIO, and facing user feedback on posture adjustments, the adjustment process will also be more proactive and faster, which has advantages in terms of production capacity and user satisfaction, and also support FOTA.The queen seat of the copilot not only supports 22-way electric adjustment and one-key adjustment of 135-degree tilt angle, but also provides one-key reclining function with a tilt angle of 170 degrees and heated leg support. In addition, the second row seats are all equipped with electric footrests, which can be adjusted in 12 ways and tilted 135 degrees.
Unlike before, the ES8 this time comes with an executive version.
The ordinary version of the second row seats each have integrated armrests and a 170mm passage is left in the middle of the seats. The executive version of the ES8 adds an executive center console in the middle of the second row seats, making this model more like an MPV. The seat width is increased to 550mm. At the same time, you need to move the second row seats forward to enter the third row.
The executive center console has three wireless charging pads, two vertical ones for ordinary mobile phones and a horizontal one for NIO Phone to be released by NIO in the future.
Originally, the lower part was storage space, but NIO also reserved a space for a 5L refrigerator for users to install, which can be adjusted in temperature from 0℃ to 50℃. The temperature of the refrigerator can be remotely controlled through the car’s control screen, the rear control screen, and the APP even when the user is away from the car.
The new ES8’s third row seats provide 14-way electric adjustment, support seat heating, and one-key folding and resetting of the backrest. The two sides connected to the seats and the car also provide cup holders. And, with Type-C charging ports, independent air conditioning systems and audio recognition, the users of the third row finally have “human rights”!In addition, the most surprising part of the cabin is that the size of the HUD has been increased to 16.3 inches. Moreover, the N-Box enhanced entertainment host, which is equipped in all models, can realize the direct insertion experience of 4-person AR glasses.
The all-new ES8, whether in appearance or interior, has commercial considerations, and from some angles, it will give you the impression of an MPV. Therefore, the editor also selected a pure electric MPV model for information comparison.
NIO EC7, Elegant Parkour?
As the second coupé SUV released by NIO and the first model equipped with active lifting tail wings, NIO EC7 satisfies all my imagination. Let’s take a look at the price first, whether compared with ES7 or regarded as an upgraded model of EC6, the price has increased slightly.
Let’s take a look at the comparison of NIO EC7 with two other models. It seems that the wheelbase of this car is not outstanding:
In the lighting system of the new car, in addition to the smart multi-beam headlights that are interlocked with the ES8 and laser radar, the NIO EC7’s penetrating taillights and hidden high-mount stop lamps also use light guide crystal technology, and the thinnest part of the taillights is only 3mm. This is simple enough yet refined enough. It should be noted that in the full linear taillight market, it is certainly necessary to consider and polish how to stand out.
In the video, the editor did not get to experience the interior of the car, but looking down from the top, you can see the intelligent dimming panorama sky roof (optional) installed on the EC7. It has a glass area of 1.94㎡, using double-layer soundproof and heat-insulating glass, with a beautiful appearance and a broad field of vision. As the sensor can actively adjust the light transmission level of the sky roof by perceiving the outside light intensity, it also relieves the awkwardness of experiencing the panorama sunroof in summer to some extent.
In addition, although the sky roof uses a black and gray base color, the human eye can still reproduce the hue of external objects from the inside out, which is also a subtle detail.
The interior of this car has a design style similar to that of the brand new ES8, and it also uses renewable materials. The touch of the central control panel wrapped in bio-based ultra-fine suede is also quite soft and skin-friendly.
The only regret for the editor is that the N-BOX enhanced entertainment host in the NIO EC7 cabin needs to be an optional add-on. Li Bin stated that due to the positioning of the car’s product, it is not a standard feature for the EC7. Therefore, the cabin entertainment experience of the NIO EC7 should not be too different from that of current models like the ES7 that do not have this option.
As a sporty SUV, based on the NT2.0 platform, the hardware of the NIO EC7 is guaranteed to be of top quality. The EC7 still uses the dual-motor intelligent four-wheel drive system, and the 3.8s for 0-100 km/h acceleration is a breakthrough that is unprecedented in all NIO models. The 33.9m braking distance per 100 km/h is also the best among current NIO models.“`markdown
The front double wishbone and rear multi-link independent air suspension, 50:50 weight ratio, and dynamic damping control system make me look forward to the handling of EC7 from NIO.
The third-generation station even has a LiDAR?
In addition to releasing new cars, updates to the battery swapping energy replenishment system seem to be a tradition of NIO Day.
NIO’s latest fast charger has a power output of 500 kW and a maximum current of 660 A. What does that mean? Li Bin said at the press conference that the ET7 with a 100 kWh battery pack can drive 400 kilometers after charging for 20 minutes.
In addition, the new fast charger uses NIO’s self-developed liquid-cooled charging gun line, which reduces the weight of the gun head even under high current situations.
As for the third-generation station, it can hold 21 battery packs, which is an increase from 13 in the second-generation station. The daily service capacity will also increase by 30%.
Surprisingly, in addition to the improvement of basic capabilities, two LiDAR and two OrinX chips have been added to the third-generation station. I guess the appearance of the third-generation station is to link with the NAD function in the future, because although there is no latest information about the NAD function released this time, there is a highlight video of high-speed navigation and battery swapping.
In other words, from the entrance of the ramp to the exit after completing the battery swap, all you need to do is sit in the car and watch. Therefore, if we can find ways to improve the technology and achieve ideal information interaction among the vehicle end, the station end, and the cloud end, it would be so great that we can let the car queue for battery swapping while we go to the bathroom during a stop at the service area, and then we can directly drive away when we come back from the bathroom. This kind of user journey would be so amazing!
“`After NIO Day2022, NIO’s corporate blueprint is about to open up a new chapter. Just like the theme song “Feel the light” performed by NIO Band, NIO is constantly pursuing its own light.
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.