The NIO ET7 has been making waves in the automotive industry, especially with the recent unveiling of the ET9 and its SkyRide chassis technology. However, until the ET9 hits the market, the ET7 remains NIO’s flagship executive sedan. As a flagship model, the ET7 is expected to deliver a level of performance and luxury that rivals the best in the business. In comparisons with the Mercedes – Benz E – Class and BMW 5 Series, the ET7 has proven to be a formidable competitor. Now, let’s take a closer look at its mechanical and hardware capabilities to see if it truly lives up to its role as a benchmark for executive electric vehicles.
Since entering the NT2.0 era, NIO has made significant strides in improving the overall hardware quality of its vehicles. As the first sedan built on the new NT2.0 platform, the NIO ET7 100kWh Executive Edition we are examining today is the second – highest trim in the lineup, featuring a front permanent magnet and rear asynchronous dual – motor all – wheel – drive system. Before diving into the details, it’s essential to highlight some technical aspects of the ET7’s body structure.
As a luxury electric executive sedan, the ET7 has a curb weight of approximately 2.3 tons. Its hybrid steel – aluminum body structure weighs nearly 445kg, consisting of 39.8% aluminum and 60.2% steel. High – strength and ultra – high – strength steel account for 73% of the body, while submarine – grade hot – formed steel makes up 44% of the upper body structure. The ET7’s body frame is exceptionally robust.
In the front section, we can observe some nearly cost – no – object details. For instance, the longitudinal beam penetrated by the half – shaft is reinforced with high – strength castings, making it even stronger than the original beam design. Another example is the Torque Box structure, which has been a hallmark of NIO’s vehicles. This complex one – piece casting connects the front longitudinal beam, sill beam, A – pillar lower structure, and footrest area, effectively binding these four critical collision force transmission paths together. This design ensures that energy is efficiently transferred during a collision, particularly in small overlap crash scenarios like the 25% offset test, minimizing intrusion into the passenger compartment.
The front suspension employs a double – wishbone setup, a common feature in luxury sedans. All control arms are made of forged aluminum, and both the upper and lower control arms feature a dual – ball joint design, similar to the layout found in Volkswagen’s high – end MLB Evo platform. The virtual kingpin design enhances precise handling. The intersection of the two independent control arms forms the virtual kingpin, which changes as the wheel turns, bringing the steering point closer to the wheel center. This design improves resistance to longitudinal force fluctuations, ensuring a more stable driving experience during extreme conditions like rapid acceleration and sharp turns. Notably, the ET7’s front lower control arm is equipped with a hydraulic bushing with a carbon fiber insert, balancing handling and comfort while significantly improving durability.
The suspension system combines CDC (Continuous Damping Control) with air suspension, offering three height and damping settings: – 10mm, 0, and + 40mm. It’s crucial to activate the “Tire Change Mode” or “Lift/Maintenance Mode” in the vehicle’s system before lifting a car with air suspension to protect the air springs.
The shock absorber top mount is made of die – cast aluminum, ensuring strength, albeit at a higher cost. The front brake system features a four – piston caliper from Brembo, a well – known supplier. The wheel arch liner is made of soft glass fiber, with material and pattern designs optimized for NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) performance. Additionally, the front subframe is a full – frame design constructed from double – layer stamped steel plates, with the front permanent magnet synchronous motor wrapped in thick sound insulation, reflecting NIO’s attention to NVH.
Moving to the rear of the vehicle, the ET7’s aluminum content is significantly higher than in the front. The rear subframe is a full – frame design made using hollow casting technology, offering high strength and low weight, which helps manage the overall weight despite the larger rear asynchronous motor. The subframe is connected to the body using hydraulic bushings, which provide better vibration resistance but come at a higher cost. The rear asynchronous motor is also extensively covered with thick sound insulation.
The rear suspension features an H – arm multi – link setup, similar to an integrated link design. The large H – shaped lower control arm is connected to the bearing hub via short integrated links, creating a complex layout. Like the front suspension, all control arms are made of aluminum, except for the toe control link. The rear suspension uses a separate spring and shock absorber setup, with the CDC shock absorbers supplied by ZF, manufactured in South Korea. These shock absorbers can adjust the maximum damping force of 6000N in just 0.01 seconds.
The rear brake system also comes from Brembo, but it uses a single – piston floating caliper design with an integrated electronic parking motor. The air spring compressor is located at the front of the suspension system, behind the battery pack. Compressed air enters the electronic valve body through purple pipes, then is distributed to the four air springs via colored pipes. Excess air is stored in a reservoir at the rear of the vehicle and can be redirected to the valve body as needed.
Given that the NIO ET7 is an electric vehicle, its underbody flatness is impeccable. Without removing the underbody panels, the vehicle’s underside is smoother than any internal combustion engine car.
NIO has also paid meticulous attention to battery protection. The 100kWh battery cells are supplied by CATL, while the battery design and packaging are handled by NIO. To accommodate the battery swap system, the battery pack and body frame have been reinforced. All NIO vehicles feature high – strength multi – chamber extruded aluminum sills, forming a robust structure with the floor cross members that can withstand 300KN of lateral pressure, providing the first line of defense for the high – voltage battery modules.
The battery casing is made of high – strength aluminum, featuring a double – layer aluminum plate protection and a robust honeycomb structure that optimizes mechanical strength and includes multiple reinforcement designs. In the event of a collision or underbody impact, the internal cells will not catch fire or explode. The battery pack meets the IP69K standard, ensuring complete dust resistance and the ability to withstand high – pressure, high – temperature water jets.
The battery swap system offers NIO owners the advantage of minimizing battery safety risks. Through the swap network, NIO can automatically retire old batteries with low health or high safety risks, continually replenishing the system with new batteries to ensure that owners always receive a battery with guaranteed safety and performance.
Additionally, the NIO ET7 comes standard with air suspension, offering four driving modes: Comfort, Eco, Sport, and Sport+. Depending on the driving mode, the suspension height and stiffness can be actively adjusted in real – time, with three height settings: – 10mm, 0, and + 40mm. Thanks to the intelligent electric vehicle architecture, all electronic control functions in the chassis and suspension system can be updated via FOTA (Firmware Over – The – Air), allowing users to access the latest and most optimized control programs, continually enhancing the driving experience.
In conclusion, the NIO ET7 showcases a blend of cutting – edge technology, meticulous engineering, and premium materials, solidifying its position as a top – tier executive electric sedan. Its robust chassis, advanced suspension system, and comprehensive safety features make it a standout in the luxury electric vehicle segment.
