A few days before first deliveries on March 29th, Chinese premium EV maker NIO started  customers tests in China with its new flagship ET9 sedan that is to take on the ‘crème de la crème’ of the German premium competition.

With a starting price of 788,000 yuan (€100,340), including the battery pack, it is Nio’s most expensive and technically most advanced model. Early buyers in China get many benefits, like ten years of free battery swapping service, up to six times per month, or ten years of free Navigate on Pilot Plus (NOP+) driver assistance.

Worry-Free Service

That’s only on top of other announced extra services, such as chauffeur service, business travel pick-up and drop-off, and valet parking, although the car even features fully automated remote parking.

It’s all part of the Worry-Free Service package, which covers over 20 scenarios, including insurance, repair and maintenance, accident rescue, and car wash.

Lifetime free on-site tire repair and roadside assistance are included, as is a ten-year unlimited mileage warranty and six years or 150,000 km of overall warranty for the vehicle.

The car itself should be ‘the pinnacle of NIO’s 10-year Innovation’, as the company calls it. The ET9 was launched in Guangzhou on December 21st, during Nio Day 2024. Founder and CEO William Li said that immediately after its launch, the limited 999 ‘ET9 First Edition’ was sold out within hours.

This version, which will be the first to be delivered by the end of March, costs 818,000 yuan (€107,600) in China. It features updated interior materials, exclusive badges, and carpet lights and comes standard with premium features like NOMI Mate 3.0 and 23-inch wheels compared to the standard ET9.

925 Volt architecture

The 5.3-meter-long sedan is packed with NIO’s latest technology. It sits on a new NT 3.0 platform with 925 Volt architecture and has two electric motors, 340 kW in the rear and 180 kW in the front, delivering a combined output of 520 kW (697 hp) and 700 Nm torque.

The huge sedan accelerates from 0 to 100 km/hour in 4.3 seconds. This first edition comes with a 100 kWh (swappable) battery pack, promising a range of 650 km (CLTC).

NIO says consumption is around 16.2 kWh/100 km, which is suitable for an AWD car with these performances. When not swapping the battery, it can be charged at up to 600kW for a 255 km extra range in five minutes.

But the emphasis in this 5,3-meter-long sedan – even 20 cm longer than the ET7 – is on luxury. The wheelbase of 3,250 mm allows for massive leg room, especially for the rear passengers, who get limo comfort in two separate, relaxed seats with all the comfort one could want.

There are also two 14.5-inch OLED screens, one for each passenger, a 360° turntable business table that can be positioned anywhere, and an integrated fridge in the center business console.

Flabbergasteing Herbert Diess

The SkyRide active suspension is a technology tour de force. It allows four stacks of champagne glasses to remain steady on the hood without spilling a drip while driving over speed bumps.

Former Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess was among the guests who could try out the ‘impossible’ themselves by getting behind the wheel with NIO boss William Li in the passenger seat.

Herbert Diess, a friend of William Li, was flabbergasted after driving it over a series of speed bumps with a tower of filled champagne glasses on the hood, saying, “This is impossible.”