Tesla’s best selling Model Y is facing a new competitor in mainland China as Nio edges closer to delivering a fully-electric model under its new brand Onvo, which is fitted with its battery-swap technology and is 17 per cent cheaper.
The Shanghai-based carmaker will start delivering the L60 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) later this month to build its market presence, the company said. The SUV will be priced at 206,900 yuan (US$29,267), or 43,000 yuan below Model Y’s basic edition, it added.
“The car, with swappable battery, is safer and more reliable,” Ai Tiecheng, Onvo’s CEO said when unveiling the new model on Thursday. “Onvo will open 200 stores in 120 cities across mainland China by the end of the year to attract more customers.”
The L60 SUV has a driving range of 555km, matching Model Y’s distance capability of 554km.
Nio’s battery swap technology allows drivers to get back on the road in just a few minutes with a battery change. Buyers who choose to rent a battery need to make a one-time payment of 149,900 yuan plus a monthly subscription fee of 599 yuan, Ai said.
Currently, all cars under Nio’s namesake brand are priced above 300,000 yuan and compete against the likes of BMW’s X5 and Audi’s Q7. Onvo targets car buyers with budgets between 200,000 yuan and 300,000 yuan.
The L60 vehicle has become the latest model developed by a Chinese carmaker to take on Model Y. The vehicle sets the local benchmark as the best selling SUV in its segment. Deliveries of Model Y fell 17 per cent to 298,384 in the first seven months of this year, according to the China Passenger Car Association.
“The midsize SUV segment targets millions of middle-income families and is attractive to most EV makers who are increasingly aiming to take buyers away from Model Y,” said Gao Shen, an independent analyst in Shanghai. “Nio already has a loyal fan base in China and the Onvo SUVs will be a threat to Tesla.”
Aside from the Onvo L60, Geely Automobile’s Zeekr 7X and IM Motors’s LS6 are also piling up the pressure on Tesla, whose locally-assembled Model 3 and Model Y are viewed as ageing models by young Chinese consumers.
Zeekr’s 7X, which debuted at the Chengdu Auto Show in August, will be offered with two battery options that can travel up to 605km or 780km on a single charge. The batteries feature 800-volt technology that can offer about 400km of driving range after just 10.5 minutes of charging.
