NIO launched its second electric sedan, benchmarking Tesla's Model 3

Deliveries are expected to begin in September 2022

"ET5 is a key product for us because NIO has been focusing on SUVs in the past"

Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO has released its second sedan, directly competing with Tesla's most popular Model 3.

At THEO's annual NIO Day event in Suzhou on December 18, founder and CEO Li Bin unveiled the all-electric ET5 sedan. The basic single charge has a range of 550 km (342 miles) and starts at 328,000 yuan (US$51,450) before subsidy and 258,000 yuan before subsidy for battery rental schemes. The Tesla Model 3 sells for 255652 yuan after subsidies in China.

Deliveries are expected to begin in September 2022. Earlier, NIO released its first higher-priced ET7 electric sedan — the competitive target is the Tesla Model S — and deliveries are expected to begin in March. The company also expects to launch another electric car in 2022.

"ET5 is a key product for us, because NIO has been focusing on SUVs in the past," Li Bin said in an interview with Bloomberg on December 18, "We have been looking forward to a model with a more suitable price and a larger consumer group." ”

NIO also released a strategic roadmap for international expansion. After entering Norway earlier in 2021, the company plans to enter Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden in 2022 and 25 countries by 2025. The company is also seeking access to the U.S. market.

NIO delivered 10,878 vehicles in November, and a total of 80,940 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2021, all SUV models. Like other companies, the company is facing supply chain woes and its Hong Kong listing plans have been delayed.

Li Bin said that there will be more car chips in mid-2022 or the third quarter, and said that this should not affect the delivery of ET5, although "even a shortage of more than 1,000 chips on our cars will affect production." ”

NIO is expanding its product range from SUVs to compact cars to expand its appeal in the increasingly competitive Chinese electric vehicle market. According to the Forecast of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China's new energy vehicle deliveries could grow by 47% to 5 million units in 2022. Written by Bloomberg News Editor/ Feng Yanbin