Nio’s flagship electric vehicle, ET7, amazed enthusiasts when it reached a driving range of 648 miles on a single charge with its new semi-solid state battery. Nio’s CEO himself recorded the feat on a 14-hour trip, CarScoops reports.
“The completion of this range test marks the range of smart EVs going beyond 1,000 kilometers, which will further promote the transformation of the automotive industry from the consumption of gasoline to electricity.”
William Li, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Nio
The 14-hr range test
Nio’s CEO and founder, William Li, tested the ET7 equipped with the new 150 kWh battery pack in a 14-hour trip from Zhejiang Province to Fujian Province. It is worth noting that the Senior Vice President of Nio Power, Dr. Fei Shen, accompanied the company boss in conducting the test.
Impressively, the all-electric sedan managed to reach 1,044 km (~650 miles) CLTC range in just a single charge with a remaining 3% battery capacity.
Nio live-streamed the 14-hour test drive starting early Sunday morning. CEO Li stated during the trip that the new battery already recorded a 1,145 km (711 mi) CLTC range in a mass-produced model.
The Nio boss activated the ET7’s intelligent driving mode (Navigate-on-Pilot) for 92% of the time, or 957 km (595 miles). According to InsideEVs, the ET7 had an average energy consumption of 212.4 Wh/mile (13.2 kWh/100 km). The remaining 3% of battery capacity can add another 36 miles.
About the new battery tech
Nio claims that the new semi-solid state battery is currently the largest capacity of passenger EVs produced in China. It also asserted that the single-cell offers a 360 kWh/kg energy density. It also apparently has sixfold stronger cooling than standard EV batteries.
“This battery is currently the battery pack with the highest energy density in mass production in the world and has excellent safety performance.”
Nio’s CEO and founder, William Li
It is also apparently the world’s first-ever pouch format cell CTP Pack that has no thermal propagation layout.
Nio currently offers the new 150 kWh battery pack exclusively to its Chinese customers registered in its Battery as a Service (BaaS) subscription model.
The Ultra Long Range battery is apparently compatible with all the brand’s models through its chargeable, upgradeable, and swappable power service system.
Nio battery options
Nio previously only equipped its electric vehicles with either the 75 kWh or the 100 kWh battery pack. Now, its battery portfolio includes the 150 kWh semi-solid state battery, which can be swapped into any model.
It has the same size as the other battery pack options and weighs just 20 kg (44 lbs) more.
Considering the remarkable feat of the new battery pack, it will undoubtedly be high in price. Nio President Qin LiHong hinted that it would have a price close to the ET5, which starts at 298,000 yuan ($42,100) for a 75 kWh battery configuration. Nio expects to kick off mass production in April.
You can watch the ET7’s range test live stream below:
