New Models
New Models

Nio ES6: Chinese brand releases third EV

All-electric SUV slots in below the flagship ES8 crossover.


Nio has expanded its fast-growing line of electric vehicles in China, adding the mid-sized ES6 SUV to its range.

Revealed at an event in Shanghai, the ES6 is being described as a "high-performance" and "long-range" sibling to the ES8 SUV and lap-record smashing ES9 supercar.

Two trim levels will be offered: the ES6 Standard, with a 160kW motor on each axle, and the ES6 Performance, which subs the regular rear motor for a 240kW unit.

Combined, that means the Performance has 400kW and a more-than-handy 725Nm of torque. It'll hit 100km/h in 4.7 seconds, while it'll stop from the same marker in 34m. Top speed in the Performance is 200km/h.

The largest battery offered is an 84kWh unit, good for 510km on the New European Drive Cycle (NEDC). Although the NEDC is more lenient than WLTP, that should still make for between 400 and 450km on the tougher new test loop.

A smaller 70kWh option is also available, with 410km of claimed range.

Nio is touting the car's chassis, which leans heavily on carbon-fibre reinforced plastic and aluminium to save weight, as one of the stiffest offered today. That should do good things in crash testing, and help the air-sprung ES6 handle, although the company has dedicated little-to-no time to describing its dynamics.

That'll be refreshing or concerning, depending on your point of view.

Behind the wheel, the ES6 expands on the concepts explored on the ES8. That means the dashboard is dominated by a Tesla-aping vertical touchscreen, while there are air vents spanning the width of the dash.

There's even an in-dash smart assistant, dubbed Nomi. How it compares to the latest from Mercedes-Benz and BMW remains to be seen, but the little dash-top hub in which it resides certainly looks cool.

Pricing will start at 358,000 yuan, equivalent to $72,200 in Australia. You'll pay around $90k for the top-spec model, undercutting comfortably the Jaguar I-Pace, Audi e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQC's expected pricing in Australia.

Deliveries of the ES6 will start in the second quarter of 2019, but it's for Chinese eyes only at the moment.

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