Chinese electric vehicle maker Li Auto Inc.’s (NASDAQ: LI) CEO Li Xiang has praised rival Nio Inc.’s (NYSE: NIO) flagship ET7 sedan, noting that it was among the two best electric cars at this year’s Shanghai auto show, cnEVpost reported Sunday.
What Happened: Li said on Weibo that the Nio ET7’s design is sophisticated and confident, while Geely Automobile Holdings Limited’s (OTC: GELYF) Zeekr 001 offers great value for money, according to the report.
However, Li expressed disappointment with the electric flagship cars of traditional luxury car brands – Daimler AG (OTC: DMLRY) owned Mercedes-Benz’s EQS and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s (OTC: BMWYY) iX series. He noted that “many of the strange design and feature points are just incomprehensible.”
Why It Matters: Nio unveiled the interior of the ET7 at the Shanghai auto show, which began April 19. As announced at its launch at the Nio Day event in January, the ET7 will include the Nio Autonomous Driving (NAD), Aquila super sending system and Adam super computing platform.
The ET7 boasts what Nio CEO William Li says is the first UWB digital key, and has soft-closing doors and frameless windows. Li has also claimed Adam’s computing power is seven times that of Tesla Inc.’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) full self-driving software (FSD).
The ET7, Nio’s fourth mass-produced model, is scheduled for commercial launch in the first quarter of 2022. The sedan is expected to be priced between RMB 378,000 to 526,000, depending on the edition and whether a user chooses the battery-as-a-service or autonomous-driving-as-a-service offerings. Nio is relying on service offerings to make an impact on customers in China.
Meanwhile, Li Auto is the first to successfully commercialize extended-range electric vehicles in China, the world’s largest EV market. The company started volume production of its first model, the Li ONE SUV, in November 2019.
Tesla continues to have a dominant position in the Chinese EV market, but several Chinese players are closing in fast as they work on developing new electric vehicle technologies such as ultra-fast charging and autonomous driving technologies.
Price Action: Li Auto shares closed almost 2.8% higher on Friday at $20.60, while Nio shares closed 3.8% higher at $41.08.
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