NIO is entering the German market with the ET7 showcasing minimalist design at its best

Around the IAA Mobility, we followed the invite of NIO to have a look at the ET7.
Earlier this year, NIO unveiled the electric sedan in China. Now the brand has presented the ET7 in Germany and Europe. With the ET7, NIO is entering the Germany market at the end of 2022.

”Entering Germany is the objective that we’re striving for. Interest is very high with many potential users there” – William Li, founder and CEO of NIO

We couldn’t wait to have a closer look at the design of the NIO ET7. The impressions we got from the unveiling in China were already very promising. All this was reinforced when visiting on-site. We experienced the electric sedan with Senior Exterior Designer Ahmad Moslemifar and took a seat in this very spacious vehicle. The exterior as well as interior convinces with its minimalist, reduced design. It is not without reason that the ET7 received the 2021 Red Dot Product Design Award. Sleek lines, a clean silhouette. That’s exactly how we like it. Flushed-fitted door openers, frameless windows underline the sleek look. The design is coherent all around and absolutely stunning.

With its length of around 5.10 meters, the ET7 must offer exceptional space inside. And that’s the case. It doesn’t feel like sitting in a car any longer, more of a second living room. The large panoramic glass roof makes the interior look even bigger and brighter. Rear passengers also benefit from it. Taller people who always had problems with the legroom in cars, will like the ET7.

All feels and looks very high quality inside the ET7. Even here, the reduced design continues. Features such as invisible air vents and waterfall lightning ensure this clean interior. When stepping out of the ET7 and then sitting in another car – we directly thought of why is everything so cluttered? So NIO perfectly managed to design an interior you think of and are impressed of.

The latest technology has been used in the ET7 and thus NOMI, the first in-car artificial intelligence-driven digital assistant can’t be missed. Next to it, you have a 12.8 AMOLED centre-touch display. But do you even need the centre-touch display any longer, when you have your travel companion NOMI on board who can control everything? This is one feature we can’t wait to test ourselves.

According to NIO, its concept car EVE from 2017 served as a starting point for the design process of the ET7. EVE has an extreme futuristic look and is designed for autonomous mobility of the future and as a lounge on wheels. EVE is not equipped with a driver's door and instead of classic seats, seating corners have ben integrated that create this feeling of a mobile living room. Many features from the concept car have now made it onto the production vehicle of the ET7. With its 3.07-metre wheelbase, the ET7 has a similarly elongated appearance as the design study EVE. As sustainability is getting more and more important, NIO worked with the sustainable material Karuun®, a renewable rattan. Now the ET7 is the first production car, where Karuun® is being used. It’s a sustainable plastic-free material, fitting perfectly into premium vehicles as it is very sophisticated in its appearance. NIO goes even further and commits itself to use Karuun® also for other applications, such as in its first European NIO House in Oslo.

Thanks NIO for having us, for the great insight into the ET7 launching on the German market at the end of 2022 and for taking us along your upcoming plans and implementations. We can’t wait to fully experience the ET7 and to test drive the car.

Pictures: NIO for ellectric
Text: Britta Reineke