Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
After the 2022 Beijing Auto Show being delayed in April due to the Covid-19 cases surge in China, NIO is now being forced to postpone one more time the official launch of the NIO ES7 SUV. According to Mr. Lihong, NIO‘s Co-funder, Director and President, the company will unveil the SUV model as soon as the Shanghai measures ease, which is expected to happen in mid-June.
When asked about the new date for the NIO ES7 launch, NIO’s Co-Founder said “When Shanghai (lockdown) is unblocked, it will be done right away.
According to data released on Tuesday, new infections in Shanghai fell for the third consecutive day, dropping 14 percent to 480 cases in the previous 24 hours while symptomatic cases rose 5.5 percent to 58.
During a Conference held on February, Lihong said: “Officially named ES7, the model will be between ES6 and ES8. It is positioned as a medium and large five-seater SUV with an NT2.0 platform. The comfortable one is stronger. ES7 is competing with X5, the two most competitive five-seater SUVs this year.”
The model has been spotted several times during the last weeks, he model was spotted again on-road tests in China. The new SUV model will be officially unveiled within 3 weeks, as announced by the EV maker.
The first photos of NIO ES7 leaked on December 29th, showing some differences compared with the existing models. Deliveries in China are expected to start during Q4 2022 with the European Market receiving the first units early next year.
On January 17th, the model was spotted on the road in China under Spy Mode. These tests on the road are part of the process for any company months before launching a new model.
Lihong added that model will target the same market that BMW X5: “ES7 is competing with X5, the two most competitive five-seater SUVs this year”. Although the company didn’t confirmed the final price yet, it is expectable to start around ¥382,000 ($60,000USD). The 2022 BMW X5 xDrive45e Plug In Hybrid costs ¥382,200 so NIO ES7 price may be around $55,000 – $65,000.
NIO announced on Monday that it will be included in the Hang Seng TECH Index as a constituent stock, effective June 13, 2022, according to the announcement made by the Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited on Friday.
The electric vehicle maker started being traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange on Friday, an event live streamed by the NIO on its social platforms. CEO William Bin Li unveiled that the company aims to establish a research and development center for artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving (AD) in Singapore. In addition, NIO plans to research institutions to further broaden and enhance its global R&D capabilities while details on the expansion to the country in terms of sales were not mentioned.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter