Nio EP5 promises colossal 620-mile range – but miles ain't miles

Chinese electric vehicle brand Nio has debuted a new mid-size family sedan with a battery option for all-day driving. The EP5 can be specified with an "Ultra long range" pack that delivers up to 1,000 km of driving - although all might not be as it seems. It aspires to autonomy, and while Nio doesn't make it abundantly clear exactly what it'll be capable of doing for itself when it hits buyers' garages in September 2022, it's got enough "Nio Aquila Super Sensing" and "Nio Adam Super Computing" to do the job when software and regulations allow. Nio will switch on the "Nio Autonomous Driving," or NAD, system in stages as a subscription service. The killer here is a 150-kWh "Ultra long range" battery pack that Nio says enables a range "Over 1,000 km". That's the biggest range claim we've seen yet on a consumer EV, walking all over the impressive 520 mile EPA range that the Lucid Air Dream Edition Range pulls from its 118 kWh battery pack, verified earlier this year. Nio will launch the car in China first, starting at 328,000 RMB, and the company is looking to expand its network outside China to cover 25 countries worldwide by 2025.