The relatively new Nio brand starts a new sub-brand called ONVO.
Nio is one of those Chinese brands that looks like it’s about to take off the way BYD has. In Europe, their battery swapping technology is seeing experimental adoption and within China it looks like many brands are partnering up with Nio too. That in mind, it’s also running on a very different kind of automotive platform as its rivals as it relies on a “Chargeable, Swappable, Upgradable” model for its batteries. This means that the cars themselves are sold at a lower price WITHOUT their battery packs. Instead, the customer buys the car and subscribes to the battery pack and battery swapping services. In the tradition of all Chinese car brands, Nio has started a new sub-brand called ONVO and it too is using the same business model. So what is this new brand all about and what are they bringing to market?
From what we can deduce from the press release, ONVO is the first of many brands being developed by NIO. The brand itself is built around family-centred buyers. The name is a sort of portmanteau of “On Voyage”, but its Chinese name is “Le Dao”, which roughly translates to “Path to Happiness With Family”. Fittingly, the logo resembles an upward path… or an “N”, depending on your own perspective.
The first ONVO product is rather unimaginatively called the L60, continuing another tradition of Chinese carmakers – the alphanumeric car name. The L60 is a mid-sized family SUV that features a 900V high-voltage architecture and has a claim to the lowest drag coefficient of a production SUV at just 0.229 Cd. ONVO also says the car has a CLTC rated energy efficiency of 92.3%, but we would take that information with a pinch of salt as it’s not widely used outside of China. The L60 also has a claimed CLTC range of over 1,000km though this too should be taken with a pinch of salt. If true, then it’s extremely impressive. Packaging for the L60 emphasizes the spacious cabin, allowing each occupant their own luggage space.
Starting price for the ONVO L60 is RMB 219,900 but this probably without the battery subscription price included. Deliveries are expected in Q3 2024. ONVO users can enjoy the same access to battery swapping stations across China. There are over 1,000 currently in the country and they enable a quick 3-minute battery swap.
