Nio is getting ready for a big party this week – on Thursday April 9, the company will host an event to show off its newest creation: the Nio ES9. This is a very large vehicle that Nio calls a “smart electric executive flagship.” That name might sound like a lot of marketing talk, but it basically means this is a giant, high-tech car built for people who want the best features available in electric cars. Nio shared new videos and photos to get people excited before the official reveal – and there is a lot to unpack.
The ES9 is definitely not your average family car. It will be the biggest pure electric SUV sold in China. According to official papers, it measures 211.2 inches in length. It is also 79.9 inches wide and 73.6 inches tall. With a wheelbase of 128 inches, the ES9 is as long as two newest Smart #2 EVs parked bumper to bumper. It is even larger than Nio’s current big SUV, the ES8. If you have a small garage, you might want to bring a tape measure before you order one.
The new Nio ES9 – source: Nio/Weibo
The front of the vehicle has a bold look that Nio calls the “Shark Nose” design. It gets very thin, sharp lights called “Ultra Pure Crystal Diamond” daytime running lights. These are helping the driver see at night, and they have a neat trick – they can actually project videos onto a wall about 10 meters in front of the car. If you ever feel like watching a movie on your neighbor’s fence while you are parked, this car can do it. These smart headlights can also cover six lanes of traffic to help you see pedestrians or obstacles more easily.
Some people worry that big EVs are hard to drive on narrow streets, but Nio claims it has solved this problem. The company released a video showing the ES9 driving through tight roads – it apparently turns as easily as a much smaller car. The car’s safety was tested by popping a tire at 93 mph and the SUV stayed steady even after the tire blew out.
Interior of the new Nio ES9 – source: Nio/Weibo
Inside the cabin, the ES9 looks more like a luxury lounge than a car. It has a six-seat layout with two seats in each of the three rows. The middle row has “zero-gravity” seats which can lean back very far to make you feel like you are floating. The seats also come with heaters, cooling fans, and massage tools. The windows use electrochromic glass, allowing you to turn them from clear to dark with the push of a button.
There are screens everywhere in this SUV. The driver gets a huge 15.6-inch screen in the middle of the dashboard. There is also a long display that stretches across the front for the passenger to use. People sitting in the back have two 14.5-inch screens to watch shows or play games. There is even a small 8-inch screen in the center of the back seats. To keep your snacks cold, Nio included a small refrigerator. The company used a lot of real wood and soft Nappa leather to make the interior feel upmarket.
Interior of the new Nio ES9 – source: Nio/Weibo
This car has plenty of power – it uses two electric motors to move its heavy body. The front motor provides 180 kW (241 hp), and the rear motor adds another 340 kW (456 hp). All that power comes from a 102 kWh battery pack. Depending on which version you buy, the car can travel between 360 miles and 385 miles on a full charge. It also uses a 900V system, so the battery should charge very quickly – we will have more details on that this Thursday.
The ES9 is also very smart. It uses two Shenji NX 9031 chips designed by Nio. To see the world around it, the SUV has a LiDAR sensor on the roof and more sensors on the sides. It also uses radar and cameras to watch for other cars. This is the same high-tech hardware found in Nio’s most expensive sedan, the ET9.
We do not know exactly how much the ES9 will cost yet. Nio says they will announce the pre-sale prices during the event on Thursday at 7 pm Beijing time. We can guess it will be expensive, though. Nio’s current top-of-the-line sedan starts at RMB 768,000, which is about £81,400. After the big reveal this week, the ES9 will go to the Beijing Auto Show on April 24, with deliveries expected to start on June 1.
Via