In the upcoming Nio Day, scheduled for December, the Chinese automaker will unveil a luxury sedan priced at over one million yuan, approximately 950.000 DKK/1,4 millions SEK/NOK. This high-end vehicle is designed to compete with the Mercedes-Maybach S in the Chinese market and is based on the Nio EVE Concept.
The announcement was made by Qin Lihong, the president and co-founder of the brand, who has a tendency to release statements a few weeks before Nio Day to generate anticipation. While Lihong did not explicitly mention a sedan, he referred to “a significant new product.”
The most expensive Nio ever?
Contrary to earlier statements by Nio CEO William Li, who had announced that the company would not launch any new products in 2024, many believe that the vehicle will hit the market by 2025 under the Nio brand, not under the new brands Alps and Firefly, which are expected to offer lower-tier vehicles.
Telescope reports that the new sedan will be based on Nio’s new NT3 platform, becoming the first electric vehicle equipped with Nio’s in-house developed autonomous chip. It will also feature an extra-long wheelbase of 3.3 meters, pushing the limits of what a third-generation Power Swap Station (PSS) can handle. This implies that battery swapping won’t be possible in first or second-gen PSS stations. Additionally, it’s likely to be the first model featuring the new 300 kW motor unveiled in August.
The Chinese company is currently facing various challenges, including launching the new luxury sedan and offering more affordable electric vehicles under the Alps and Firefly brands. Simultaneously, Nio is developing its own chips, managing a battery swap station network, and tackling the intricate expansion into European markets, where it competes not only with the Mercedes-Audi-BMW trio but also with Volvo, Polestar, and Zeekr, the in-house rival from Geely. 2024 is shaping up to be a demanding year for the Hefei-based automaker, as it won’t introduce new products under the Nio brand; only some aesthetic changes are expected, and the company will need to promote and demonstrate the effectiveness of its new sub-brands.