NextEV Reveals Hypercar, Plans for Volume Model

LONDON – Chinese fledgling automaker NextEV chooses one of the U.K.’s most prestigious art galleries to unveil its first production car of a completely new brand: An EV hypercar able to accelerate to 125 mph (201 km/h) in 7.1 seconds.

And in taking the wraps off the new NIO EP9, company co-founder William Li promises there soon also will be a mass-market offering to join the stunning totally Chinese-constructed vehicle that will go into production next year.

But while the hypercar will be made only in China, its development has drawn on technology and design teams from California, Germany and Singapore. It is a direct descendant of NextEV’s FormulaE racer that won the world championship title in 2014, the company’s first year of existence.

The EP9 already has set EV lap records at both the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France and at the infamous Nurburgring Nordschliefe circuit in Germany where it clocked an impressive 7:05:12 lap.

Weighing 3,880 lbs. (1,759 kg) with a carbon monocoque chassis under a carbon composite body, the EP9 employs four inboard axle-mounted electric motors and boasts a combined power output of 1 Mw, or about 1,341 hp, driving it to a top speed of 195 mph (314 km/h).

It measures 192 ins. (4,888 mm) long, 88 ins. (2,230 mm) wide and just 45 ins. (1,150 mm) high. The manufacturer says the interchangeable battery packs can be charged in 45 minutes and give the car a possible range of 265 miles (426 km).

Exhibited at the Saatchi Gallery in the trendy Chelsea area of London, the aluminum-bodied hypercar looks impressively finished considering it started life on the drawing board less than 18 months ago under the direction of former Ford and Bentley designer Dave Hilton.

No pricing has been announced, although a figure of more than $1 million is mentioned at the launch here.

The EP9 is just the start of the NIO brand that Li says will launch its higher-volume premium EV by the end of 2017.

“It is our ultimate goal to provide an affordable electric car to the masses,” he tells WardsAuto. “Next year in China we will start production of the car, which will be a premium product to rival Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Lexus in quality terms and be competitive in terms of both price and performance.

“It is important for us to reach the point that the user experience of recharging the cars will be better than the user experience of filling a car with gas, so that the user doesn’t have to choose electric just for moral reasons.”

Partnering with Chinese automaker JAC, the company will begin pilot production of the aluminum-bodied volume model in first-quarter 2017 and launch full production by the end of the year. Capacity is planned at 100,000 units.

Li stresses that although the vehicles are meant for local sale, they will meet global quality standards and be supplied to other markets if demand exists.

“We are less concerned about just selling cars in any market but trying to provide a better experience for users than they are getting at the moment,” he says. “We will only enter these markets if we are able to provide this level of user and digital-age experiences.”