Market launch soon for NIO's EC6 vehicle

Chinese electric car startup NIO's pre-production EC6 car model has rolled off the production line at the Hefei-based JAC-NIO Advanced Manufacturing Center, indicating it will soon be launched on the market.

The electric coupe sport-utility vehicle is its third car model. Prices will be announced in July with deliveries to customers in September.

Competition in the electric vehicle market is fierce. Buyers have a variety of choices, including Tesla’s China-made Model 3 and vehicles from Xpeng Motors and Polestar, the premium electric vehicle maker owned by China’s Geely.

Xpeng, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, launched its new P7 sedan in late June. It is produced at its Zhaoqing car plant in Guangdong Province. Polestar plans to deliver Polestar 2 electric sedans in China from July and have 20 showrooms across the country, most of them opening later this year.

Chinese new-energy vehicle startups delivered a total of 33,200 vehicles in the first five months, a 54.5 percent rise year on year, according to insurance data. NIO topped the list, with 10,324 vehicles delivered. The company attributed the reason to sales of its second production vehicle the ES6 and expects its third model the EC6 to perform well. NIO delivered 3,155 vehicles in April and 3,436 in May.

Zhang Xiaofeng, an independent market analyst, said: "The competition is becoming fiercer as more and more Chinese new-energy vehicle startups are launching new vehicles to the market. US electric carmaker Tesla also attracted car buyers as it already lowered its Model 3 prices in China in early May. After the earlier adjustment, the current price for the Model 3 Standard Range Plus is 271,550 yuan (US$38,382), which is very competitive for consumers."