Watch out for Chinese brand Nio with its slogan “ready for tomorrow” as it is set to take on Tesla.

Nio is a five-year-old Chinese start-up but sales will soon begin of the ET7 in Norway and then wider Europe.

The  5.1 metre  ET7 is a Tesla Model S beater and it’s priced from NZ$81,000 equivalent or NZ$95,000 with a battery included. In China, it’s common to lease a battery, hence the price difference.

The ET7 looks beautiful and comes fully kitted with front and rear massaging seats, a laminated glass roof and “heartbeat tail lights”. 

With its 480kW engine it’s good for 3.9 seconds for 0-100km/h.  Most amazingly it debuts a 150kwH battery good for 1000km plus, this is the longest range in the world and it also offers 100kwH (700km) and 70kwH (500km) batteries.

It has advanced self-driving capabilities that include an eight-megapixel camera versus Tesla’s 1.2 megapixel camera. It also uses Lidar technology sensors to better perceive its surroundings. 

Elon Musk has spoken out against Lidar on Tesla, but recent documents lodged with the FCC in the US seem to contradict this and indicate Tesla is looking at Lidar.

The Nio ET7’s lasers give it a 500 metre perceptiveness range and a 120 degree field of view.