Nio ET7 spotted at battery swap station for first time
A camouflaged ET7 has been spotted at one of Nio's battery swap stations, the first time the model has been spotted at the facility.
As Nio's flagship sedan, the ET7, gets closer to delivery in the first quarter of next year, you can expect more and more information about the model to emerge.
A new image circulating on Chinese social media shows a camouflaged ET7 at one of Nio's battery swap stations, the first time the model has been spotted at the facility.
Only one image has been circulated, and it is unclear whether this is an ET7 on its way to a road test for energy replenishment or a battery swap test.
Nio unveiled the ET7 at Nio Day 2020 on January 9 this year, and deliveries of the model are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.
The pre-subsidy price of the Nio ET7 is RMB 448,000 ($70,100) - 526,000. If users choose Nio's battery rental solution BaaS, the pre-subsidy price drops to RMB 378,000-398,000 with a monthly battery rental of RMB 980-1,480.
Nio has never disclosed the number of orders for the ET7, but has said several times that it has exceeded expectations with more orders than any previous vehicle.
In July, Nio conducted a month of winter testing of the ET7 at the SHPG International Test Track in New Zealand. The test track is a well-known winter test track in the southern hemisphere, open only from June to August every year, where many car brands are tested.
In August, Nio completed the ET7's summer heat test in Sanya, the southernmost city in China's Hainan Province.
Last Monday, Nio said it conducted a 20-day test of the ET7 in a highland environment in mid-September to verify the model's performance in harsh environments.
The ET7 is a key driver of many analysts' bullish outlook for Nio.
Goldman Sachs analyst Fei Fang upgraded Nio from Neutral to Buy in a report earlier this month, maintaining a price target of $56.
Fang raised Nio's revenue forecasts for 2021-23 by 2 percent and 7 percent, respectively, to reflect the differentiated ET7 launch, but maintained profit expectations and valuation.
The analyst sees Nio's positioning of the ET7 as a strategic product and its price makes it the most expensive model ever launched by a domestic manufacturer, reinforcing Nio's brand value in the premium market.