NIO CEO confirms next model will be the ET9, an executive flagship EV to compete with Maybach
Less than two weeks after speculation began to swirl regarding this week’s NIO Day 2023 event and which new model we might see unveiled, the Chinese automaker’s founder, chairman, and CEO William Li has come out and confirmed it will be the ET9. Hailed as an executive flagship sedan, NIO hopes the ET9 can compete against Audi and Mercedes-Maybach in a luxury segment that’s tough to crack.
As we touched upon earlier in December, NIO Day is an event we look forward to toward the end of each year, as it always promises the debut of new EV models and relative technologies. In the past, we’ve seen NIO unveil its flagship sedan, the ET7, followed by the debut of the ET5.
Last year’s event included unveiling NIO’s ES8 and EC7 SUVs, pushing the automaker’s lineup to eight available EVs. Later this week at NIO Day 2023, we know that the EV family will grow by at least one model that features nomenclature that consists of a letter and a number. The higher the number, the more premium the EV.
Weeks after NIO’s CEO revealed the automaker would unveil a new flagship EV model during the event, William Li has now confirmed the debut will, in fact, be the ET9 sedan.
NIO ET9 confirmed and will debut on December 23
During a recent solid-state battery range test in its ET7 sedan, NIO recorded the 1,044 km (639 miles) drive on a single charge, posting a live stream to Weibo. With 3% battery remaining after the 1,000+ km journey, NIO’s range milestone is a celebration in itself. Still, it’s what founder William Li said during the drive that was just as interesting:
On NIO Day December 23, we’re going to unveil an executive flagship sedan, the ET9. When it comes to executive flagships, you know there’s Mercedes-Benz’s Maybach, the S-Class, the BMW 7-Series, and the (Audi) A8. And then there are some sporty ones like Porsche’s Panamera.
There you have it. The NIO ET9 will debut later this week and will arrive as the automaker’s more premium luxury sedan to date, looking to compete with the big dogs in luxury. NIO is already considered by many to be a luxury EV brand, so it will be exciting to see what sort of technology and design it will bring to the ET9 to push it to the executive echelon.
To date, Chinese brands have struggled to penetrate the ultra-luxe executive sedan segment, but Li thinks NIO’s technology offers an opportunity for the automaker to compete. NIO Day 2023 will occur on December 23 at the Xi’an Olympic Sports Center in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.
Following the NIO Day event, we will post a recap and share all we learn about the flagship ET9 sedan. Check back soon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Fancy German-made mid-drives are often considered the premier option for electric bikes, offering higher precision engineering and an overall more sophisticated experience. But they’ve also been quite pricey, at least until Ride1Up began running an incredible sale on its normally $2,195 Prodigy XC electric mountain bike, marked down to just $1,295.
I reviewed the urban version of this bike back when it was at full price, and it was a great buy even at its MSRP. But now with this killer Black Friday price, this is a deal that is unlikely to ever be seen again.
The Class 3 electric bicycle can hit speeds of up to 28 mph (45 km/h), and comes with all the benefits of that nice Brose TF Sprinter mid-drive motor. That means you get the smooth and refined torque sensor-based pedal assist, the color screen, and the higher-end ride quality.
Other nice components found on the bike include the Maxxis Forekaster off-road tires, the Tektro quad-piston hydraulic disc brakes, and the 120mm-travel air suspension fork.
At this price, Ride1Up is almost certainly selling the bike at below cost, meaning you’re getting it for less than it costs the company to build these highly-acclaimed e-bikes.
Why would they do that? Because this is the previous generation of the bike, which was eclipsed by the second-generation Prodigy V2. But hey, if this bike was good enough when it came out a year before the V2 (and it was), then it still a great bike today. For those who don’t need the nicest and newest version of a piece of tech, this is an incredible steal of a deal.
Ride1Up is all but certain to be moving these Prodigy XCs at such a low price to clear up shelf space in their warehouse, so when these are gone, they’re gone for good. And this isn’t only a Black Friday price – the company has been moving these bikes for several months at this crazy sale price. That further underscores that this is a clear-out-the-previous-version sale that will be gone for good when the bikes are gone.
At this price, there’s simply no other German-made mid-drive e-bike out there with the bang-for-buck offered by the $1,295 Prodigy XC right now, that’s for sure.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Working oil pumps against a sunset sky.
Imaginima | E+ | Getty Images
Higher fuel prices could be in the cards if President-elect Donald Trump follows through with his tariff threats on Canada, according to industry experts, who are skeptical on whether the new levies will ever be implemented.
Trump on Monday pledged to implement additional tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico on day one of his presidency, according to his posts on social media platform Truth Social. He said he would sign an executive order on Jan. 20 imposing a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, a move that may breach the terms of a regional free trade agreement.
Goldman Sachs’ Co-Head of Global Commodities Research Daan Struyven said that if a 25% levy hit Canadian crude exports to the U.S. “that could, in theory, lead to some pretty significant consequences for three groups.”
U.S. refiners who rely on Canadian oil barrels could face lower profit margins, and consumers may potentially face higher prices, surmised Struyven. Lastly, Canadian producers may suffer revenue losses if they are unable to reroute their barrels that would have otherwise gone to the U.S.
America’s imports of Canadian crude oil hit a record of 4.3 million barrels per day in July 2024 after the expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
If we were to see a 25% tariff on Canadian energy exports, I think it could have some very significant ramifications for trade flows.
Daan Struyven
Goldman Sachs
Additionally, refiners in the Midwest, which are more adapted to process Canada’s heavy sour crude rather than the low sulfur sweet crude produced domestically, could also have problems switching should the Canadian imports be interrupted, Struyven told journalists at an online conference.
“If we were to see a 25% tariff on Canadian energy exports, I think it could have some very significant ramifications for trade flows,” Struyven said.
Mexico and especially Canada have “notable tightly integrated linkages” with the U.S. when it comes to the oil, natural gas and auto industries, Citigroup wrote in a note following Trump’s announcements this week.
“Absent carve-outs, this would increase costs for U.S. refiners and U.S. consumers,” said the bank’s research team led by Energy Strategist Eric Lee.
However, Goldman highlighted that it is unlikely that the tariffs will be implemented as announced, on the premise that the Trump administration is focused on reducing energy costs.
Trump cannot allow inflation to get out of control in the 15 months before the midterm election season, Viktor Shvets, global strategist at Macquarie Capital, told CNBC. Shvets believes that tariffs are used as a negotiating tool to achieve certain objectives such as strengthening the border.
“I do not believe for a second that there will be a massive increase in overall tariffs because that will represent a tax on U.S. domestic manufacturers. That will also represent a tax on U.S. exporters,” said Shvets.
Canada’s trade bodies have shared their concerns, too.
“As Canadians, we need to be eyes-wide-open on the President-elect’s promise for across-the-board tariffs,” the CEO of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Lisa Baiton, reportedly said.
Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta which accounts for the largest production of crude in Canada, said that the Trump administration has “valid concerns related to illegal activities at our shared border,” and urged the federal government to resolve said issues immediately to avoid any “unnecessary tariffs” on Canadian exports.
On today’s fact-checking episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got a showdown brewing between California Governor Gavin Newsom and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, an updated 650 hp Kia EV6 GT that’s ready to take on the world, and some sweet deals on battery-powered goodies.
We’ve also got new electric buses at UCLA that are powered by inductive current in the road itself, and a massive new solar project on a site more famous for coal than clean. All this and a little bit of fact-checking on some fresh musky nonsense – enjoy!
Today’s episode is sponsored by BLUETTI, a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems. For a limited time, save up to 52% during BLUETTI’s exclusive Black Friday sale, now through November 28, and be sure to use promo code BLUETTI5OFF for 5% off all power stations site wide. Learn more at this link.
Source Links
Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!
Read more: E-quipment highlight | Palfinger FLS 25 eDRIVE truck mounted forklift.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway