► Details of new flagship Nio ET9
► First EV with 900v architecture
► Four-seater ‘executive bridge’ interior
Nio has revealed an all-new model at its 2023 Nio Day: the ET9. It’s only launching in China for now, but demonstrates some new technologies and acts as a luxury flagship for the electric car brand.
The new ET9 is a four-seater with not-quite-saloon, not-quite-SUV crossover proportions. Nio says it’s designed to be a ‘smart electric executive flagship’, and it still features plenty of design elements of other Nio cars.
Nio is calling the ET9’s interior the ‘executive bridge,’ almost as if you’re climbing into a luxury starship. Some features of note include rear seats with huge levels of adjustment (some of which are Nio patents) and a tray table that can rotate 360-degrees for those fortunate enough to sit in the back.
Beyond the interior luxuries, though, is where it gets really interesting. The ET9 features steer-by-wire technology, rear-steer and fully active suspension, and Nio claims its flagship has ‘the world’s only driven-by-wire intelligent chassis’ and says that the ET9 is capable of delivering ‘a driving experience akin to travelling on a flat surface.’
The ET9 also runs a 900-volt electronic architecture – a novelty in the EV world. Such a high-voltage architecture (higher than that of cars like the Porsche Taycan and Hyundai Ioniq 5) means faster charging and lower weight, and it shows: Nio claims the ET9 has a peak charging power of 600kW.
Nio says the ET9 also benefits from its swappable battery system like all of its other cars, where users can visit Power Swap Stations for a three-minute battery changeover. We’ve tested the technology in Norway.
It’s extremely unlikely that the ET9 will come to Europe, as the brand slowly enters markets on the Continent. In Nio’s home territory, it says buyers can order one now with the first examples arriving in 2025.