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The EVs with the longest-range in the UK will cover around 400 miles on a full battery charge, but Nio's 1000 km claim (621 miles) would put it comfortably ahead of its rivals from Mercedes-Benz and Tesla. TESLA MODEL 3
Nio CEO William Li said: “The completion of this endurance challenge proves the product power of the 150 kWh ultra-long endurance battery pack.
“This battery is currently the battery pack with the highest energy density in mass production in the world and has excellent safety performance. More importantly, all models on sale can be flexibly upgraded to 150kWh batteries through the Nio battery swap system.”
During the demonstration, Li himself drove the all-electric ET7 vehicle 1,044 km (around 650 miles) during a 14-hour live stream.
The Chief Executive travelled from Zhejiang Province to Fujian Province on Sunday at an average speed of 84 km/h.
Nio claimed that in another test, the car was driven 1,145 km, however this was not broadcast.
At the Munich Motor Show, Nio European CEO Hui Zhang stated that a UK launch will likely happen by the end of 2024.
Zhang said: "We believe the UK is one of the most important markets in Europe as the second biggest after Germany. We will go to that market. In 2025 we want to be present in over 25 countries and regions around the world and I believe the UK is in the 25 countries."
Nio’s method of recharging the battery is different to the majority of EVs on the market today. Nio uses a battery swap system rather than plugging the EV into an outlet at home or on the public charge network.
The company’s vehicles use a system where an empty battery can be swapped with a fully charged battery. Nio claims the battery swap process can be completed in less than three minutes. This means that the time spent recharging the vehicle is similar to that of filling up an internal combustion vehicle at a forecourt.
In order to use this service, customers will need to pay a monthly subscription fee to Nio, although it isn't clear how much this fee would be for UK drivers.
Toyota is currently developing solid-state electric car batteries that, it claims, will offer 600 miles plus of range and a rapid charge time of just 10 minutes.
Would you be interested in having the new Nio vehicle? Will this help in the transition to EVs across the UK? Leave your comments below.
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