

China’s electric vehicle startup NIO launched sales of its first car model ES8 on Dec. 16 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing, ThePaper.cn reported Monday.
Now customers can make preorders of the electric SUV with a range of 355 to 500 kilometers on a single charge, the company said, adding that the 7-seater ES8 can accelerate to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.4 seconds.
The standard ES8 is sold at 448,000 RMB ($67,758) but the company is also offering a limited edition model for 548,000. The NIO model costs roughly half the price of the Tesla Model X in China.
The first batch is scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2018.
The company offers a battery renting structure, which lowers the upfront price to 338,000 RMB if the customers choose the battery renting service.
In addition, the company promised that all NIO models will be equipped with standard battery packs, which suggests that early customers will be able to extend the range of their vehicles once the company releases more capable batteries.

In addition, all customers will enjoy a lifetime free guarantee, free telematic services, and free roadside assistance.
According to William Li, founder of NIO, the company plans to build 1,100 battery-switching stations with a radiance of 3 kilometers each before 2020.
About 1,200 charging vehicles will be launched nationwide as mobile charging stations to meet demand. It is learnt that a range of 100 kilometers will be added to the vehicles after a 10-minute charge.
Currently, the company has received capital from 56 investors, including Chinese business magnate Pony Ma, chairman of e-commerce giant JD Richard Liu, and tech firm Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun.

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