Chinese carmaker Nio has just launched its first autonomous electric car. The new Nio ET7 saloon is a high-performance electric car that features a 180 kW permanent magnet motor in the front and a 300 kW induction motor in the rear. This delivers a maximum power rated at 480 kW with a peak torque of 850 N·m.
The ET7 will accelerate from 0-62mph (0-100kph) in 3.9 seconds and has a 33.5-metre braking distance from 100 km/h. Performance of the ET7 is boosted by a drag coefficient of just 0.23 and applying the company’s second-generation high-efficiency powertrain with a silicon carbide power module, the vehicle energy efficiency is further improved.
Even with such a high level of performance the range is around 311 miles (500km) with the 70kWh battery option and rises to around 435 miles (700km) with the 100 kWh version. When coupled with the new 150 kWh battery the ET7 boasts a range of over 620 miles (1,000km).
The ET7 will also feature a wide range of advanced driver assistance systems that allow it to offer autonomous driving. The system features 33 high-performance sensing units, which includes 11 eight-megapixel high-resolution cameras, one ultra-long-range high-resolution LiDAR, five-millimetre wave radars, 12 ultrasonic sensors and two high precision positioning units.
These high-performance sensors are seamlessly built into the body of the ET7 which measures 5,098 mm in length, 1,987 mm in width and 1,505 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,060 mm. The ET7’s autonomous systems are powered by a state of the art computer system capable of generating 8GB of data per second.
NIO’s ET7 will start at RMB 448,000 (£51,243/€56,856/$69,000) and is now available for pre-order on the NIO app. Deliveries are expected to start in the first quarter of 2022.
