The 1000km Journey
On 17th December, NIO founder, Chairman and CEO, William Li set out on an unprecedented journey. Beginning in Shanghai, the ET7 travelled 1,044km without being charged on its way to Xiamen, on the southeast coast of China. Stopping only to swap drivers, the ET7 travelled the equivalent of 648.7 miles and used only 97% charge, meaning the full range of the ET7 using the Ultra Long Range battery is likely over 1,075km or 668 miles. This would make it the EV with the longest range currently on sale, with a range over 200 miles more than the Mercedes EQS and over 150 miles longer than the Lucid Air. What’s even more impressive is the test was completed in cold conditions, which usually decreases range, as lithium-ion batteries are temperature sensitive meaning they are often less energy efficient in lower temperatures.
The Ultra Long Range Battery: Changing the EV Game
The Ultra Long Range Battery has a capacity of 150kWh, making it the EV battery with the highest capacity currently on the market. That figure swamps the 109kWh of the Lotus Eletre, the next highest energy-storing electric car and double that of cars like the Kia EV6 or Porsche Taycan. The battery used is truly revolutionary due to its cell energy density of up to 360 Wh/kg, making it the highest energy density for mass-produced battery packs for electric vehicles in China.
NIO’s Battery Swapping Programme
The Ultra Long Battery is compatible with all NIO models through NIO Power’s battery swapping system, which allows customers to upgrade batteries for their cars to increase performance or range over standard options. The battery is also available as part of NIO’s Battery as a Service (BaaS) programme, in which batteries can be swapped or upgraded when they run out of juice to save time for the owner. NIO models can even be bought without a battery already installed if the owner signs up for the BaaS, to lower the upfront cost or monthly finance payments. NIO currently has 2,322 worldwide battery swapping stations, with 33 in Europe and the remaining 2,289 situated in China. The latest station was opened in Amsterdam on 18th December in Amsterdam and NIO has performed over 34 million battery swaps to date, averaging to one every 34 seconds.
