Onvo L60: Family SUV in Tesla Y format promises 1000 km range
Nio's new e-car brand Onvo is launching with the L60, a mid-range SUV with a range of up to 1000 km and optional participation in the battery swap system.
Onvo L60
(Image: Nio)
The Onvo brand (short for "On Voyage"), which was spun off from Nio three years ago, is presenting its first electric car, the Onvo L60, a mid-range SUV model. How could it be otherwise, one might almost involuntarily add. But SUVs have been the most successful and fastest-growing category for a quarter of a century now. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2024, and in Europe at the end of the year. Nio puts the price at between 200,000 and 300,000 yuan. Converted, that would be around 25,700 to 38,400 euros, but there is no price for the European market yet. Other information is also scarce. However, some of the information that has been made public so far is already intriguing.
Industry-leading 900 volts
The manufacturer speaks of "industry-leading 900 V high-voltage architecture", without revealing details of the cell chemistry and battery structure, and advertises an energy efficiency of 92.3 percent. Previously, the upper limit for battery voltage was 800 volts. The charging time tends to decrease with increasing voltage, and recuperation and charging also become more efficient if the manufacturer makes use of all possible advantages, which is not always the case.
With this and the "world's lowest drag coefficient of a series SUV of 0.229", the L60 has an energy consumption of 12.1 kWh per 100 km according to the Chinese CLTC standard. With an "ultra-long-range battery", Nio promises a range in the CLTC of over 1000 km, without giving a more precise capacity specification. These values are by no means equivalent to the WLTP.
Onvo L60 (6 Bilder)
(Bild: Nio)
Self-selected opponent: Tesla
The short overhangs of the electric car, which is positioned as a "family vehicle", allow for a spacious cabin. Thanks to a special storage space design that is not described in detail in the press release, "every passenger can take their own luggage", as if this were not possible without a clever luggage system. Nio cites the similarly priced Tesla Model Y in China as a competitor model.
Onvo will be involved in the battery swapping system that Nio has been developing for a few years now and calls "Chargeable, Swappable, Upgradable". This means that users who have opted for this at the time of purchase can get a freshly charged battery in minutes at swapping stations. The charging function is of course retained, and there is also the option of having a larger or more modern battery installed at a later date.
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(fpi)