A Chinese EV squeezed 650 miles of range from its 150 kWh battery
An EV from Chinese manufacturer Nio will soon go on sale with a “semi-solid state” 150kWh battery (140kWh usable) that’s the largest in any passenger car, Car News China reported. To show much range that will deliver, Nio CEO William Li drove a prototype version of the ET7 1,044km (650 miles) in 14 hours, a distance surpassing many gas-powered vehicles.
The test was run in relatively cool temperatures (between 28 – 54 F) and livestreamed. Driving was done mainly in semi-autonomous (or Navigate-on-Pilot+, as Nio calls it), and speed-limited to 90 km/h (56 MPH). The average speed was 83.9 km/h (a respectable 52.4 MPH), with a travel time of 12.4 hours excluding stops.
“The completion of this endurance challenge proves the product power of the 150kWh ultra-long endurance battery pack,” said Li in a Weibo post (Google translation). “More importantly, all models on sale can be flexibly upgraded to 150kWh batteries through the Nio battery swap system.”
In fact, the ET7’s 150kWh battery will only be available on a lease separate from the car, much as we’ve seen with some cars sold in Europe. Previously, the company said that the battery alone would cost as much as …read more
