Nio launches Onvo sub-brand in China to take on Tesla

SHANGHAI-BASED electric vehicle manufacturer Nio, recently launched a new smart EV sub-brand known as Onvo.

According to the automaker, Onvo is short for “On Voyage”, and its first product to enter the market will be the L60, an electric SUV designed compete with the Tesla Model Y.

The L60 is available for pre-order in China with prices starting at RMB219,900 (RM142,670), with deliveries expected to commence in the third quarter of this year.

In comparison, the Model Y in Malaysia starts from RM191,000 for the Rear-Wheel Drive variant and goes up to RM280,000 for the Performance variant.

According to Onvo, the L60 is built using a 900V high-voltage architecture, claimed to be more energy efficient, boasting CLTC energy efficiency of 92.3% and the world’s lowest drag coefficient of 0.229 for a production SUV.

As a result, the company claims that the electric SUV can achieve energy consumption as low as 12.1 kW.h per 100 km.

In its Standard Range configuration, the L60 can travel up to 555 km on a single charge, while the Long Range configuration offers a range of up to 730 km. With the Ultra Long Range battery, it can provide a driving range of over 1,000 km.

Furthermore, the L60 features battery swapping technology with Nio, allowing drivers to replace their EV batteries in just three minutes at over 1,000 battery swapping stations across China.

Additionally, customers have the option to purchase the L60 without a battery. It is sold at a lower price of RMB170,000 (RM110,558), but they are are required to pay a monthly subscription for the battery under the Battery as a Service (BaaS) program.

After the initial launch in China, Onvo reportedly plans to market the L60 globally, including in Europe, towards the end of this year.