NIO, Xpeng Motors Hit Market at Chengdu Motor Show 2020 with Newly Launched Vehicles

The NIO EC6 Coupe SUV and Xpeng Motors G3i SUV models were launched on July 24 at the Chengdu Motor Show 2020, one of the most valued automobile events in China.

Targeting Tesla’s Model Y, China’s pioneering electric vehicle manufacturer NIO officially launched and priced its mid-size electric SUV, the EC6, with a starting price of 368,000 yuan before subsidies at the Chengdu Motor Show with first delivery expected in September this year.

Deemed as NIO’s ES6 model’s fastback version, the EC6 looks more dynamic, with its drag coefficient reduced to 0.26Cd.

Besides appearance, NIO also improved the new model’s battery durability. The EC6 has a maximum battery life of 615km compared with ES6’s maximum battery life of 510km.

In addition, with the company’s ambition to promote battery swap technology and launch BaaS (Battery as a Service) products, NIO-produced vehicles can achieve rapid battery exchange, meaning the battery without power can be directly replaced by a previously charged battery when the car is out of power. The “vehicle-electricity separation” feature is said to significantly save time spent charging.

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According to a newly issued notice on improving the fiscal subsidy policy for the promotion and application of new energy vehicles in April, vehicles priced above 300,000 yuan do not enjoy subsidies, except for those equipped with standardized swappable batteries. Pandaily reported earlier that NIO is reported to be the only local EV marker that meets the standard.

Following NIO, Xpeng Motors announced at the Born Intelligent press conference the debut of its enhanced version of the G3 SUV series, the G3i series models, with subsidized price range expected between 149,800 and 199,800 yuan.

As a derivative model of Xpeng’s G3, G3i maintains the design style of its former generation but has undergone a major upgrade in the application of intelligence, according to the conference.

The G3i is equipped with a new smart display, which integrates air conditioning and a quick volume operation panel with a Qualcomm 820A chip and an Xmart OS 2.0 system. Compared with its predecessor, G3i’s system computing power is increased by 700%, fluency increased by 30%, and storage capacity increased by 33%, NBD news reported.

Xpeng Motors Vice President of Sales Liao Qinghong said at the conference that the company will continue to deepen its penetration into the local market and enhance its core competitiveness through self-research.

NIO and Xpeng Motors are two of the leading domestic EV makers in China. The former is the first and sole domestic EV-making force listed in New York with a $1 billion IPO in September 2018. The latter announced a $500 million series C+ financing with backers Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse Capital, and Sequoia Capital China on July 20 this year.