Chinese electric car maker Nio has launched sales of the ES8 in its home market. The all-electric SUV is expected to compete with Tesla's Model X.
According to Electrek, the Tesla Model X is very popular in China. However, because of import duties that are levied, the all-electric crossover is quite expensive. It has a starting price of 836,000 yuan ($126,470).
With this in mind, Chinese consumers may opt to consider another electric vehicle that has recently entered the market — the Nio ES8. The competing SUV is more affordable at 448,000 yuan ($67,765).
Nio is able to cut down the price due to Beijing's state subsidiaries for electric vehicles. Given the increasing demand for electric vehicles in the country, it's possible that more customers will seriously consider Nio and what the brand has to offer the automotive industry.
"For sure I think Tesla is our rival in that consumers will choose between our products. But I wouldn't say we are the Chinese Tesla, or they are the American Nio," Nio founder and chairman William Li told CNBC.
In terms of technical specifications, the Nio ES8 is a seven-seat high-performance electric vehicle. It has an all-electric range of 311 miles on a single charge and can go from 0 to 62 miles per hour (mph) in 4.4 seconds.
ES8 owners will have two options for recharging their vehicle. One option will be to swap the electric vehicle's battery at designated "Power Swap" stations. The process is said to take only three minutes. The second option will be to recharge the battery through a "Power Mobile" service vehicle that will make its way to the ES8.
According to Nio, about 1,100 "Power Swap" stations will be built by 2020. There will also be over 1,200 "Power Mobile" vehicles that will be deployed in the next couple of years.
The Nio ES8 can be equipped with NOMI, an artificial intelligence system powered by Mobileye's EyeQ4 chip. The system can automate certain features like adjusting the temperature and taking photos. It can also communicate with the driver.
The Nio ES8 is currently available to order in China.
