Tesla's rival

Nio has unveiled its first premium sedan ET7, with delivery starting in the first quarter of 2022. The Nio ET7 on-board computer features Nvidia processors, with more processing power than the Tesla. Nio also unveiled new battery replacement stations a faster alternative to charging stations.

Nio shares, up 1600% in the last 12 months, rose to a new high of 52 weeks before trading opened on Monday.

The stock's rise in non-trading hours is an investor reaction to the first Nio ET7 premium sedan with a panoramic roof, which analysts predict will compete with Tesla (TSLA) in China, unveiled at the NIO Day event on Saturday. Pre-orders for the ET7 began on Saturday, with company executives promising to start deliveries in the first quarter of 2022.

NIO founder and chairman William Li said: "with that said, it will take longer to prepare for mass production".

The standard version of the Nio ET7 is priced (without government subsidies) at $69,184 (448,000 yuan) and has a range of 500 km with a 70 kWh battery pack.

The premium version of the ET7, priced at $82,745 (536,000 yuan), can travel up to 700 km thanks to a 100 kWh battery.

The extended version of the ET7 has a claimed range of 1,000 km without recharging, using a 150 kWh battery, the price has not yet been disclosed. The sedan accelerates from a spot to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds.

That said, the price of the ET7 electric car will drop to $58,000 if customers opt for a $151 per month subscription fee to rent batteries. Nio's rivals, the Shanghai-manufactured Tesla Model Y has a starting price range of $52,472 to $57,103 (RMB 339,900 to RMB 369,900), with the Model 3 starting at $38,439 (RMB 249,000) after the subsidy. The Model Y has a maximum range of 594km.

The ET7s are thus inferior to the Tesla in price, but have batteries with higher capacity and the ability to use NIO stations to replace batteries. Nio said that it expects to commission 500 of its replacement stations by the end of 2021.

To get full autopilot in the Nio ET7, customers will also have to pay a subscription fee of $105 per month.