Among Wei Xiaoli’s “new forces”, Weilai can be said to be the most cost-effective in creating high-end tonality. As early as 2017, ES8 began to be used to seize the domestic high-end new energy market, with a starting price of as high as 448,000 yuan. You must know that at that time, the domestic new energy market was mixed, with "cheating" industrial waste everywhere, and self-branded pure electric vehicles were still a joke in the eyes of most consumers. Weilai actually dared to take the lead in sending a luxury SUV worth more than 400,000 yuan to compete in this market. It is really courageous. It has been more than five and a half years since it was released at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2017, and NIO has also proven its success to the world with excellent results.
In mid-December this year, in the " Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturer and Product Announcement " (Batch 366) issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the new generation of NIO ES8 was finally exposed. The new car is based on the latest NT2.0 technology platform. Both design and technology are close to the previous ET7 and ES7 levels or even worse. The new car will also be launched on NIO Day 2022 on December 24.
Information summary of the new generation NIO ES8
It adopts the front face of the NT2.0 platform family and has simplified body lines
It has been two years since the release of the first model ET7 on the NT2.0 platform. During this period, we can also see that NIO has launched two models, ET5 and ES7. Compared with the first-generation NIO models, this batch of models has a consensus on the design, which is simpler lines and a more sculptural shape. We can also see a similar design style on the upcoming flagship SUV ES8.
(Second-generation ES8 application picture)
The first-generation NIO ES8 has an aggressive X-Bar-shaped front face. In fact, at first glance, it still has the sense of technology of a concept car, but it does not completely cancel the front grille design in the traditional sense. The opening is very large, divided into upper and lower layers, and is fully covered with chrome. The LED headlights and daytime running lights are also like the eyes of a hermit, full of murderous intent.
The second-generation ES8 has canceled the silver chrome plating embedded in the front face and turned it into a shark-nose closed front face with more curved surfaces and fold lines, making it more electric vehicle style. We have also seen this design on the NT2.0 series models before. Under different light and shadow changes, this plan will also show more design sense.
(current ES8)
(Compared with the previous ET5, ET7, and ES7, you can see that the new design language of NT2.0 pays more attention to the creation of 3D stereoscopic effect. It is reported that the direction defined by Li Bin for designers at that time was to create "European eyes" to make it look deeper.)
(Second-generation ES8)
In addition, the lines of the second-generation ES8 are much softer, especially the direction of the side waistline. In the first-generation model, you can clearly see that the waistline above the front and rear wheel arches is somewhat angular, and the middle part is connected by a straight waistline. On the new car, the waistline here seems to be a bit faded, not due to the light and shadow of whether to declare the photo taken.
Of course, the most obvious change is the lower edge of the side window. The first-generation ES8 will lift up at the middle and rear of the rear door, which is more visually dynamic. The new ES8 directly sweeps across it, very clean and neat. It is unknown whether it is influenced by European and American medium and large luxury SUVs such as the Lincoln Aviator, Land Rover Range Rover , etc.?
(current ES8)
(Lincoln Aviator)
The new car also has significant changes in the rear shape. The three-dimensional taillights like spoons of the previous generation have become a popular through-type layout, and the lines even slightly conflict with the Porsche Cayenne. In addition, the original external rear wiper has also disappeared in the declaration picture, and it is estimated that it has become hidden and stored in the top spoiler.
(Declaration picture of second-generation ES8)
(Cash ES8)
According to the declaration information, the length, width and height of the second-generation ES8 are 5099mm/1989mm/1750mm respectively, and the wheelbase is 3070mm. Except for the slightly shorter height of 6mm, other dimensions have a certain degree of increase .
In terms of personalization, judging from the application pictures, the new generation ES8 has at least six wheel styles, tire specifications are 255/50 R20, 265/45 R21, 265/40 R22, and there are also options such as orange calipers and luggage racks.
Combining the previous practices of the ES7 and ET series sedans, the new car will also provide two appearance packages. The standard is the Sun theme, and the optional is the matte metallic gray exterior trim Moon theme (this theme package is 4,500 yuan for the ES7). Compared with the standard bright-colored Sun, the Moon theme is more low-key and dynamic. The main changes include the front and rear logos, four wheel rim logos, front and rear lower fenders, side skirt trim strips, and model tail logos.
(Declaration picture of the second-generation ES8)
It is worth noting that we can also see that the new-generation ES8 will also be equipped with an optional towing package. Electric tow hitch. The exclusive towing mode supports powering the towing equipment, and also provides a camping mode and supports external discharge functions. This means that, like the ES7, the new car can also pass regulatory certification and can legally tow RVs and passenger cars on the road with trailers.
To fully realize these functions, you need to choose a tow hitch package worth 7,500 yuan, which includes a hidden electric tow hook. The tow hook is equipped with an exclusive towing mode. The maximum towing capacity is 2 tons. It supports power supply for towed equipment and supports 3kW V2L external discharge. It can provide power for portable appliances such as small refrigerators, coffee machines, barbecue grills , and speakers.
(The picture above shows the official image of the ES7 trailer package. Note: When towing, the driver should hold a C6 driver's license or A2 driver's license , which shall be implemented in accordance with relevant road traffic safety regulations.)
NT2.0 platform/ES7 same power output data
From the declaration information, the new ES8 will continue to use a front and rear dual-motor four-wheel drive layout. The power parameters are the same as the Weilai ES7, with a total power of 480kW and a total torque of 850N·m, using a front permanent magnet 180kW/rear induction 300kW arrangement structure.
(Second-generation ES8 declaration information)
Although the power book data of the second-generation ES7 and ES7 are the same, because the ES8 is larger in size, the vehicle weight will be higher (ES7 vehicle weight is 2361kg-2400kg, current ES8 vehicle weight is 2425kg-2445kg), so it may not reach the ES7's 3.9s performance. However, according to Weilai's tonality, the actual measured results will usually be faster. Of course, the beautiful book data also benefits from the silicon carbide electric drive system. The core of
new energy vehicle is the three core parts of the electric drive system: motor , motor controller , and the transmission mechanism. The types of motors include permanent magnet synchronous motors, and induction asynchronous motors, which not only have a great impact on performance, but are also crucial factors in terms of battery life, NVH and other aspects.
As early as June 2021, NIO demonstrated its first 180 kW silicon carbide (SiC) electric drive system C sample. This electric drive system belongs to silicon carbide (SiC) may be unfamiliar to everyone, but it is a relatively common element for new energy vehicles .
As a representative material in the third generation of semiconductors, SiC is one of the ideal materials for making high-temperature, high-frequency, high-power, and high-voltage devices. Solutions based on SiC make the system more efficient, lighter, and more compact. New energy vehicles are the most important downstream field of SiC. When SiC is used in new energy vehicles, it can reduce losses, reduce module volume and weight, and improve endurance. The main applications of
include main drive inverter , DC/DC converter, car charger and charging pile in the charging system, etc. For example, Tesla's Model 3 uses SiC inverters from STMicroelectronics and Infineon. It is also the first car company to integrate a full SiC power module into the main inverter.
Back to Weilai, the most intuitive thing is the improvement in performance. Taking the previous ET7 as an example, compared with the front 160kW permanent magnet + rear 240kW asynchronous motor applied on ES6/EC6, the new second-generation electric drive system has a front permanent magnet synchronous motor peak power of 180kW, a rear asynchronous induction motor peak power of 300kW, and a comprehensive maximum output total torque of 850N·m, which has increased by 20% and 23% in terms of peak power and peak torque respectively. I believe that the ES7, which will follow the ET7, will also perform well in terms of performance.
In addition to performance, silicon carbide devices have greatly improved the endurance and NVH levels of electric vehicles . With the application of silicon carbide modules, ET7 reduces the overall loss by 4% to 6%, and the CLTC working efficiency of the main drive motor is ≥91.5%. At the same time, compared with the 160kW electric drive system, the overall noise of the electric drive is reduced by 5 to 15dB. It also greatly reduces the comprehensive working condition noise in the car, bringing users a quieter driving experience. There will also be great expectations for the new generation of ES8.
(current ES8 battery pack option)
battery pack, the current ES8 provides two endurance versions, equipped with a standard endurance battery pack (75kWh) CLTC endurance of 450km, and
equipped with a long endurance battery pack (100kWh) with a endurance of 580km.
As a reference, Weilai ES7 provides three endurance versions, equipped with a standard endurance battery pack (75kWh) with a CLTC endurance of 485km, a long endurance battery pack (100kWh) with a endurance of 620km, and an ultra-long endurance battery pack (150kWh) with a endurance of over 850km. Considering the change in the weight of the second-generation ES8, it is expected that the battery packs of the first two versions will not greatly improve the battery life, but they will be sufficient for daily use.
The cockpit may continue the "enveloping second living room" style
Although the relevant pictures of the interior have not yet been exposed, it is not difficult to see NIO's ability to create high-grade interior decoration through the NT2.0 car series. It is expected that the second-generation ES8 will also continue the concept of "enveloping second living room". The interior may be divided into upper and lower parts. The upper part mainly carries technology, such as screens, dashboards, and steering wheels, while the lower part is used to better create a sense of atmosphere, combining a large number of soft materials, 256-color ambient lights, etc.
(current ES8 interior)
In addition, ES7 has previously had a sense of design and luxury in the selection of seat materials and interior materials, such as eight renewable rattan , Nappa leather interior processed with special processes, etc. And comfort configurations such as privacy/silent glass, smart fragrance system, 23 top-level Dolby panoramic speakers, etc. Coming to the higher-level ES8, these configurations are likely to be further upgraded to provide buyers with more creativity and tricks.
(ES7 interior)
(ET7 interior)
(I believe the "queen seat" equipped since ES8 will most likely continue, and I look forward to some new surprises in terms of functionality.)
NIO Aquila Super Sensing System/Adam Super Computing Platform
In the application drawing, we may also see that the new generation ES8 also has a lookout tower + rear top camera layout, and the front fender also has an ADS camera, which means that the new car will also come standard with a full set of autonomous driving hardware on the NT2.0 platform, including NIO The Aquila super-sensing system and Adam supercomputing platform are indispensable with 1016Tops computing power, 1550nm lidar , and 8 million cameras. The hardware of the first-generation NIO ES8 under the
NP1 platform is the smart driving NOP system: trinocular ADS camera*1, surround-view camera*4, millimeter wave radar *5, ultrasonic radar*12, and driving status detection camera*1.
From ET7, ET5 and then to ES7, the Aquila super-sensing system they carry has 10 more hardware features than ES8: lidar*1, ADS camera*7, surround-view camera*4, millimeter-wave radar*12, ultrasonic radar*12, high-precision positioning unit*2, vehicle-road collaborative sensor*1, and enhanced driver perception*1. The hardware layout of the watchtower style is also better optimized. For example, the old ES8 has cameras installed on the B-pillars and rearview mirrors. The lines are easily blocked by green belts and vehicles, while the front camera is placed high on the roof and has a wide field of view. Even if the front-facing main camera does not work, relying on the two high-mounted side front cameras, complete perception of forward vision can still be achieved.
In addition to the increase in the number of cameras, refer to the ES7, its pixels have also increased from 2 million to 8 million pixels. The 11 lenses of NIO produce approximately 8G of data per second, which is several times larger than the previous NOP data volume, so more powerful chips must be used to support operations. The ADAM supercomputing system used on the NT2 platform is composed of 4 NVIDIA Drive Orin chips, with a computing power of 1016TOPS. This system has great potential and strong redundancy.
NIO Adam NIO supercomputing platform: The entire system comes standard with four NVIDIA Drive Orin The NIO Adam supercomputing platform ISP can process 6.4 billion pixels per second, and also has an ultra-high bandwidth data network of 32GB per second and an independent and complete redundant backup chip.
On the upcoming Nio Day, NIO NOP+ will also release a new high-speed autonomous pilot power swap function. The vehicle can drive from the highway into the service area, find the power swap station, and then return to the highway after completing the power swap. Qin Lihong also hopes that by this time next year, the five major highways with NIO battery swap stations will be able to open this service. At the same time, due to the factors of labor cost , Qin Lihong also said that unattended operation will become the next mainstream direction of NIO power swap stations. Is the first generation platform of
going to be abandoned?
Previously Qin Lihong, co-founder and president of NIO , revealed at the NIO media communication meeting that NIO will take half a year to transform from a first-generation and a half platform to a second-generation platform. In other words, in the first half of 2023, probably before the Shanghai Auto Show, NIO will launch the second generation ES6/EC6.
As NIO NT2.0 new cars have been coming one after another in the past two years, many owners of the first-generation platform may worry that their cars will gradually be forgotten by the brand. In terms of maintenance of old models, Weilai’s internal management plan for old models is 15 years. If Aspen needs to be maintained, it will require at least a team of more than 500 people, just like a software property company.
Editor’s Comment
As NIO’s flagship model, the first-generation ES8 has pioneering significance for NIO itself, its power consumption model and the domestic new energy market structure. Nearly six years after its launch, the new generation ES8 based on the NT2.0 platform is on par with or even better than the ES7 and ET7 in terms of intelligence. Of course, the information about the new car is still relatively limited at present. The editor actually hopes that Weilai can play more different tricks with the ES8. All this will be announced at NIO Day 2022 on December 24, and we will also follow the reports closely, so stay tuned.
