Is NIO’s ET7 A Tesla Killer? Chinese EV Rival Delivers First Luxury Sedans

Tesla rival NIO (NIO) announced on Monday that it had begun deliveries of its flagship EV, the ET7 luxury sedan.

In early afternoon trading, the Chinese EV maker’s shares jumped over 4.5% on news of the arrival of the ET7 model to the first customers.

NIO began deliveries of the electric car, which will compete with Tesla’s Model S in the Chinese market, at an event at its Hefei, China, headquarters.

It was unclear at the time of writing exactly how many orders NIO has at present for the new ET7 vehicle.

US Tiger Securities analyst Bo Pei reported that NIO had over 15,000 orders for the ET7.

Tesla delivered 24,964 Model S and Model X sedans in total in 2021. The carmaker doesn’t break out its deliveries by region.

The electric sedan is the first model in NIO’s lineup to be built on the second-generation NT2.0 technology platform that is equipped with a new software system. The automaker said it also expects its NIO Autonomous Driving subscription service to be available on the vehicle by region in the fourth quarter.

A smaller ET5 sedan and ES7 SUV will also be built on the NT2.0 platform later this year, NIO previously said.

Other features of the ET7 EV include a series of cameras and sensors that feature an integrated lidar sensor to manage the company’s advanced driver-assist system and, when available, the NAD service.

NIO is offering the ET7 model in exterior paint colors that include Cloud White, Deep Black, Star Gray, Southern Star, Sunrise Beige, Luminous Orange, and Arctic Green. Interior trims feature themes of Storm Gray, Sand Brown, and Edelweiss White.

Starting pre-subsidiary price tag of the ET7 is RMB 448,000 ($70,200), the electric car maker said at the sedan’s debut.

NIO also said it has been test driving the cars with users since March 5 in more than 80 cities, which has resulted in test drive-to-order conversion rates much higher than it initially expected.

As of Monday at 1:39 p.m. ET, shares of NIO were trading at $20.48, up 91 cents, or 4.58%.