Featured NIO ET5 - up to 620 miles of range

Lol... That's like saying a high school basketball player is a "rival" to LeBron James and Michael Jordan. All these promises from car makers with cars that aren't even rolling off the assembly line yet are such a joke compared to companies that actually already have electric cars rolling off the assembly line.

 

620 miles of range with an impossibly heavy extra cost battery and rated by a manufacturer-friendly standard even more forgiving than the European cycle test.

Never been a fan of frame-less windows.

 

That is under the CLTC standard used in China. It is more generous than the NEDC. The LFP Model 3 SR is rated 339 miles under it.

The 150kWh pack is a semi solid state chemistry with 360Wh/kg specific energy. NIO announced it last January(there was thread on it then). It won't be available for any model until next year. From the battery's unveiling, it sounded like it would only be available under the Battery as a Service program. Which would give owners access to NIO's battery swapping, and also let them take packs quietly out of circulation if they aren't living up to expectations. On a less cynical note, the packs might just be too expensive outside of the BaaS program.

 

Perhaps never in history has the auto-industry tried to innovate so much and so quickly... Everyone's pushing to accelerate while consumers are waiting... It's trying to put a decade of innovations into just a few years. Meanwhile, people aren't wanting to buy the last of the fossil fuels options and the price of a low mileage used prius in PNW has nearly doubled, if you're luck to find one...

 

I look forward to you review. When are you buying one?

Bob Wilson

 

Thread on the NIO day where the 150kWh pack was announced.
NIO day summary | PriusChat
Some discussion may have come up in the solid state battery threads.

 

A Model 3 with this pack would have an EPA range around 450 miles.

This chemistry is all new for an EV though. I'm guessing NIO wouldn't waste the funds releasing it if it died an early death, but longevity and reliability are unknown compared to Li-ion and LFP. Currently, Toyota is only going to use their solid state batteries in hybrids until they improve reliability.

The big unknown is cost. Reports on the ET5 only mention the base range model's price; $51,500 before subsidies. That is around $10k more than the Model 3 RWD in China. A buyer can opt to lower to NIO's price down to around the Tesla's with the quasi-battery lease and swapping program. That has a monthly fee of over $150 for the 75kWh pack, and $230 for the 100kWh. The 150kWh pack isn't available yet for any model. From the NIO Day reports, it will be lease only. Following the current monthly fee structure, it will be over $300.

PS: NIO's site is horrible for finding info on their models.

 

Misspoke. The ET5 EPA range, if it ever arrived, would be 450 miles on a conservative estimate, by a rough ratio of the Model 3 SR's EPA to CLTC ratings. The SR because I didn't come across a CLTC rating for the LR. The LFP EPA range is 253 miles, and the CLTC one is 339 miles.

Just found a site stating the high performance Model 3 in China is 675km(420miles) by CLTC.
https://inf.news/en/auto/db181c09cbbad388b420c0ebbcfb657a.html

The ET5 75kWh CLTC range is 341 miles. So the car has a much larger buffer to the battery, or it is much less efficient than the Model 3. Assuming the 150kWh pack wouldn't add weight, a Model 3 with it would approach 600 miles by the EPA. The Model 3 is like the Prius though; the high end outlier of efficiency.

 

The EPA rating for my 2019 Model 3 is 25 kWh/ 100 mi (100 mi/25 kWh = 4 mi/kWh.) Our former 2017 Prius Prime has the same efficiency rating.

Bob Wilson

 

Wouldn't that be expected as a prime doesn't drag around enough battery weight to go 200-300 miles on battery alone? What are the weights of the two vehicles? 3365 prime, 3648-4250 Model 3

And what are your typical speeds? Loads? Terrain?

Too many variables to make a conclusion from a small sample size.

 

My 2019 Model 3 weight was measured at 4,000 lbs with driver, dogs, and tools. I remember the EPA weight was listed at 3,800 lbs.

Bob Wilson

 

How does that explain a Model 3 with 55kWh pack being rated 339 miles, and the ET5 with 75kWh one being 341 miles?

Depending on the actual temperature differences, the colder clime might actually help the Prime's efficiency by cooling the battery, or the Tesla spends more energy cooling its pack in the higher heat.

 

NIO ....... next service center is just 10,000 miles away.

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