Chinese electric car company Nio revealed Wednesday that the first car for its new, lower-priced brand, Onvo, will be about $4,000 cheaper than Tesla\u2019s comparable Model Y.<\/p>\n
Deliveries for Onvo\u2019s first car, the L60 SUV, are set to begin in September, the company said. Pre-sales began after Wednesday\u2019s launch event.<\/p>\n
Nio CEO William Li said he expects Onvo to begin selling its cars overseas at some point but didn\u2019t specify when, according to an interview with CNBC\u2019s Eunice Yoon.<\/p>\n
Since launching about 10 years ago, Nio has focused on the premium segment of cars, priced around 300,000 yuan (US$41,500) or higher. The company has since expanded to Europe, but its monthly deliveries in China have generally remained modest versus the competition.<\/p>\n
Onvo\u2019s L60 starts at 219,900 yuan (US$30,439) versus the Model Y\u2019s 249,900 yuan (US$34,617). Elon Musk\u2019s electric SUV has been one of the best-selling pure battery-powered electric cars in China.<\/p>\n
Fierce competition in China\u2019s electric car market has invited new entrants and prompted many companies to cut prices.<\/p>\n
Smartphone company Xiaomi in late March entered the electric car market with its SU7 sedan to rival Tesla\u2019s Model 3 with a price that was also about $4,000 cheaper.<\/p>\n
The Model 3 has since cut its price by about $2,000 to 231,900 yuan (US$32,124), according to Tesla\u2019s China website. Xiaomi said Wednesday it had delivered 10,000 SU7 vehicles.<\/p>\n
BYD, which sold more cars than Elon Musk\u2019s automaker last year when including hybrids, mostly sells cars in the range of 100,000 yuan (US$13,851) or below. BYD has started to expand into higher-price segments in the last few years.<\/p>\n
Nio CEO Li confirmed to CNBC that the L60 is using lower-priced batteries from BYD.<\/p>\n
Global competition from Chinese electric-vehicle makers has also prompted stiff new tariffs from the Biden administration on imports of the vehicles to the U.S. Chinese EVs will be subject to a 100% tariff, the administration announced on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
When asked about the new levies, Li called them \u201ccompletely unreasonable,\u201d according to a CNBC translation from Mandarin to English. Li also noted the impact on consumers and climate goals.<\/p>\n
Onvo aims to set a \u201cnew standard\u201d for the family car, Alan Ai, president of the Nio sub-brand, said at Wednesday\u2019s launch event in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.<\/p>\n
The brand\u2019s name stands for \u201cOn Voyage,\u201d while its Chinese name \u201cLe Dao\u201d is meant to evoke a family having a happy time together.<\/p>\n
Ai made many comparisons to the Model Y and other cars during his presentation.<\/p>\n
He said the L60\u2032s interior was more spacious than that of Tesla\u2019s Model Y and Toyota\u2019s Rav4. He also said Onvo\u2019s new car had better shock absorption and cut tighter figure-eights compared with competitors.<\/p>\n
Onvo\u2019s advertised driving range on a single charge is at least as far as \u2014 or even further \u2014 than that of the Model Y depending on the version.<\/p>\n
As a sub-brand, Onvo vehicles can access many of Nio\u2019s battery swap and charging stations, Ai said.<\/p>\n
Ai also showed videos of Onvo models using driver-assist technology to navigate through country roads and city streets.<\/p>\n
Tesla\u2019s driver-assist software, Full Self-Driving, isn\u2019t available in China yet but is widely expected to be nearing Beijing\u2019s approval for rollout.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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