Nio said today that its third mass-produced vehicle, the EC6, has started shipping out of the factory and will be delivered to owners soon.

The Chinese luxury EV maker said it has achieved rapid mass production of the Nio EC6 despite the tough Covid-19 situation this year, which has severely impacted production and supply.

The Nio EC6 achieved mass production in just six months, the fastest record in its history, the company said.

The EC6, positioned as a smart electric coupe SUV, was first unveiled at Nio's 2019 Nio Day event last December.

At that time, Nio did not announce the price of the EC6, only that it would be delivered in September 2020.

The EC6 is Nio's answer to the upcoming Tesla Model Y. William Li Bin, the founder of Nio, said at the 2019 Nio Day event, "There will be other equally good coupe SUVs (launched) next year, such as the Tesla Model Y. Allow us to maintain some market flexibility. "

The Nio EC6 went on sale during the Chengdu Motor Show in July this year, with an official guide price of RMB 368,000 - RMB 526,000 yuan.

The EC6 has a slide-back design with a low drag coefficient of 0.27Cd, making it the lowest drag in the Nio SUV product family. The car has a range of up to 615 km.

At present, Tesla is building its Shanghai Gigafactory phase 2 which is for the Model Y. The expected price for the Model Y is divided into a rear-drive version of long battery range for 444,000 yuan, dual-motor all-wheel-drive long range version for 488,000 yuan, and dual-motor all-wheel-drive high performance version for 535,000 yuan.

However, with the localization of the domestic Tesla Model Y components increasing, the price of Model Y is expected by local analysts to drop to less than 400,000 yuan in the future.