Muscular electric cars taking the fast lane
BEIJING — Want an insanely fast ride with zero emissions? Startup NIO has the car: An electric twoseater with muscular European lines and a top speed of 313 kilometres per hour.
The catch: The EP9 costs nearly $1.5 million. NIO, a Chinese-Western hybrid with bases in Shanghai, London and Silicon Valley, created it to showcase the company’s technology and had no sales plans. But it is taking orders for “bespoke vehicles” after hearing from buyers ready to pay the eye-popping price.
“We are actually pleasantly surprised how much interest we are getting,” said the chief executive of NIO’s U.S. unit, Padmasree Warrior, a veteran of Cisco and Motorola.
NIO is part of a wave of fledgling automakers — all backed at least in part by Chinese investors — that are propelling the electric vehicle industry’s latest trend: ultra-highperformance cars.
Manufacturers including Detroit Electric, Qiantu Motor, Thunder Power and NEVS aim to compete with Europe, Detroit and Japan by offering top speeds over 240 km/h and features including carbon fibre bodies and web-linked navigation and entertainment.
The ventures mix U.S. and European technology with Chinese money and manufacturing, reflecting this country’s rise as a market and investor for an industry where Beijing wants a leading role. Communist leaders see electric vehicles as a way to clear China’s smogchoked cities and as an engine for economic development.
“We really haven’t seen non-Chinese companies get into this supertechnology market,” said Chris Robinson, who follows the industry for Lux Research.
NIO’s backers include Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, operator of the popular WeChat messaging service; computer maker Lenovo Group, a Singapore government-owned investment fund and U.S.-based IDG Capital, TPG and Hillhouse Capital.
The instant torque and acceleration of electric cars make them natural performance vehicles.
Detroit Electric, a revival of a pioneering U.S. electric car brand founded in 1907, launched a sports car venture this year with a Chinese battery maker and the government of Yixing, west of Shanghai. For a base price of $135,000, the company promises zero to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h.
The first seven of 100 cars ordered by European dealers have been delivered, according to its chair and CEO, Albert Lam, a former Lotus chief executive. He said the company aims to release an SUV in 2018 and wants to have a four-vehicle lineup by 2020.
“Our target is to be the first Chinese-based vehicle company to sell worldwide,” said Lam.
Thunder Power, led by Hong Kong entrepreneur Wellen Sham, has a similarly multinational plan for a sport sedan due in late 2018. The company is building a factory in southern China and plans a second in Spain. Engineering work is being handled by Italy’s Dallara Automobili, which helped develop Bugatti’s Veyron, the fastest streetlegal car with a top speed of 408.84 km/h.
Beijing’s backing has helped to make China the biggest electric vehicle market at a time of uncertainty about the scale of support for the industry from Washington and European governments.