The Tesla Model Y has a serious new competitor!

The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Nio has unveiled the first car from its new budget brand Onvo.

There was a time when Chinese manufacturers were content to copy European models for their domestic market. Now they produce original and very high-quality models to directly compete with the global electric vehicle sales leaders. And what better target than the best-selling car from the Tesla range, the queen Model Y.

To sell well, you need to be at the right price, which is, whether you like the brand or not, always the case with Tesla. So to make a good impression, the L60 SUV is announced to be simply 10% cheaper than the Model Y. And the specifications of the car leave you speechless. A record Cx of 0.229, a sleek and modular interior, and above all a 900 V high-voltage architecture paired with a 150 kWh battery for a range of over 1,000 km! Well, that’s about 15 kWh per 100 km, so typical CLTC measurements, but even at 20 kWh per 100 km it still offers a nice range. And no need for recharging since battery swapping is possible in just 3 minutes at the manufacturer’s 1,000 battery swap stations!

Tesla in the Eye of the Chinese Storm

Like all electric vehicle manufacturers, Tesla has faced a decline in sales due to intense competition from Chinese brands. This is of course explained by the price war fueled by the Chinese government with substantial subsidies, but also by a market that cannot expand infinitely! When a new Chinese car comes out almost every 15 days, the number of potential customers grows but not fast enough to absorb this overwhelming supply.

And when some European manufacturers announce a car several months, or even years, before its commercialization, in China everything moves much faster. Nio has already started taking orders for the L60 and aims to begin deliveries by September. And as if that weren’t enough, Nio’s executives have stated that they plan to launch a new Onvo model every year.

The salvation for Western manufacturers might come from the fierce determination of their leaders to stop the invasion. Between 100% tariffs in the United States announced by Joe Biden and the anti-subsidy investigation launched by the European Union into electric vehicle imports from China, the counterattack is being organized.