Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating on Nio (NYSE:NIO) with a 12-month price target of $11.00 after the electric automaker held its 2023 NIO Day event on Saturday and launched its flagship BEV sedan ET9 and the next generation vehicle platform.
NIO launched its ET9 executive flagship BEV at their 2023 NIO Say Event on Saturday December 23rd. The 4-seater D-class sedan aims to compete directly against BMW’s 7 series as well as the Mercedes-Benz S class and Mercedes-Benz Maybach S680 in China.
The ET9 will be equipped with all the industry-leading vehicle technology, including a new autonomous driving chip developed by NIO and the new Aquila 2.0, 900V ultra high voltage charging platform and 46105 battery.
NIO introduces its debut 5nm automotive processor, the Shenji NX9031, boasting 50 billion transistors and accommodating 32-core CPUs. Its computational capacity rivals that of four NVIDIA Drive Orin chips. Following Tesla, NIO becomes the second automotive manufacturer to embrace its proprietary autonomous chip.
NIO's autonomous technology, enhanced by the Aquila 2.0 system and a suite of 31 sensors, now incorporates two side lidars and a 4D radar, enabling a 350° angle coverage and facilitating safe driving in adverse weather conditions.
NIO's new ET9 EV will be the first in China to use a 900V charging platform and their own high-energy 46105 large cylindrical battery cells with an energy density of 292Wh/kg. This battery supports rapid 5C charging, providing a 255km range after just a 5-minute charge on a 640kWh charging station.
The company also unveiled its 4th gen battery swap station with 23 bays, capable of serving 480 vehicles daily, reducing service time by 22%. They plan to start building these stations and 640kWh charging piles in April 2024.
Shares of NIO are up 4.63% in pre-market trading on Tuesday.