Chinese Tesla rival Nio stuns world with live-streamed test of new 1,000-kilometer-range EV battery

Chinese Tesla rival Nio showed off a revolutionary new EV battery with a range of over 1,000 kilometers per charge.

William Li, the CEO of the company, drove 1,044 kilometers (just under 650 miles) between Shanghai and Xiamen on a single charge on his Nio ET7. The trip took 14 hours and ultimately ended with 3% of the battery’s charge remaining, according to Business Insider.

The trip was made possible by the company’s 150-kilowatt battery, which the Nio CEO claims possesses the highest energy density of any EV battery in the world available through mass production.

These batteries are set to hit mass production in April 2024 but will be incredibly costly — about 298,000 yuan (or $41,660), which is close to the cost of an entire Tesla Model Y.

The 650-mile range seems to be a new world record for an electric vehicle, as MotorTrend’s top three highest-range vehicles don’t come close to that figure. The outlet reported that the previous longest-range EV was the 2023 Lucid Air Grand Touring XR AWD with a range of 516 miles per charge, followed by Tesla’s Model S with a 405-mile range and Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 with a range of 361 miles per charge.

Nio has also made waves recently with its battery-swapping system, which allows EV drivers to switch out their depleted car batteries for fully charged substitutes at some 2,000 swap stations throughout China. The process only takes a few minutes, which makes it a far speedier process than recharging a single EV battery at a charging station — and users can simply pay a monthly fee for access to the swapping system.

The company has also partnered with Shell to sponsor swap stations throughout Europe. A similar system has been adopted by Taiwanese company KYMCO, which specializes in motorcycles and scooters.

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