NIO ES9 flagship SUV makes debut, gets a swappable battery with 620 km range

Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO has officially launched the ES9, its most premium flagship SUV to date, with deliveries beginning May 28 in China. The vehicle arrives as a direct challenge to traditional luxury executive SUVs, offering a blend of long-range performance, cutting-edge autonomous driving features, and an opulent interior that rivals high-end business jets.

The Nio ES9 is offered in three trims. The Executive Premium Edition is priced at RMB 4,98,000 (approximately ₹56 lakh) under the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) subscription, which allows buyers to lease the battery separately at a lower upfront cost. The mid-tier Executive Signature Edition starts at RMB 4,50,000 with BaaS, while the top-spec Horizon Edition commands RMB 5,20,000 under the same plan. Without BaaS, prices rise to RMB 4,98,000, RMB 5,58,000, and RMB 6,28,000 respectively.

Nio ES9: Cabin

At 5,365 mm in length with a 3,250 mm wheelbase, the ES9 is among the largest electric SUVs built in China. The interior is engineered around the rear passenger, featuring second-row zero-gravity seats with a 2.3-metre cushion surface and a 42-point full-body massage system. Dual 16-inch executive screens, a high-definition conferencing system, and a magnetic tea tray are integrated into a central Executive Console, effectively turning the cabin into a mobile boardroom.

The Horizon Edition goes further, featuring interior embroidery inspired by traditional Chinese landscape painting, incorporating nearly 4,00,000 stitches in a rivers-and-mountains motif using the centuries-old Su embroidery technique.

Privacy is handled by the world's first array-based liquid crystal smart dimming windows, which switch states in just 17 milliseconds.

Nio ES9: Performance and technology

The ES9 runs on a 900V high-voltage architecture, supports 5C ultra-fast charging, and enables three-minute battery swaps at NIO's Power Swap Stations, of which over 1,000 new units are planned for deployment this year. The claimed driving range stands at 620 km, with 0–100 km/h acceleration in 4.3 seconds.

Underpinning the drive experience is the world's first 48V integrated hydraulic fully active suspension, paired with a steer-by-wire system and rear-wheel steering that brings the turning radius down to just 5.4 metres, compact sedan territory for a vehicle of this size.

Smart driving capability is built around 31 sensing units and the NX9031, described as the world's first 5 nm automotive-grade chip, running NIO's AI-powered full-domain operating system.

Nio ES9: Sound and safety

The LYRA 9.2.4.8 audio system packs 47 speakers delivering up to 3,020W of rated power, with 100 per cent diamond dome tweeters and Dolby certification across three technologies. On safety, the ES9 features 12 airbags, seven layers of redundancy across key systems, and the industry's first model-based Automatic Emergency Braking and Emergency Steering systems.

At the launch, William Li, founder of NIO, said, "As the culmination of NIO's 11-year systemic innovation, the NIO ES9 created the smart electric flagship executive SUV category, setting a new benchmark in the segment."

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