Herbert Diess reacts to Nio ET9 flagship sedan: ‘This is impossible’

Nio is warming up for the ET9 launch on Saturday. Recently, it published a short video where William Li ‘corporate friends’ are test-driving the flagship sedan and giving their takes on it. Herbert Diess commented after the test drive, saying ET9 “is impossible.”

The former CEO of Volkswagen Group Herbert Diess is well-known for his friendship with Nio’s co-founder William Li.  Mr. Diess often highlighted the high competitiveness of Chinese startups like Nio or Xpeng. He also met with William Li in September. This time, the former VW leader became one of the first persons to check the Nio’s ultimate flagship, the ET9 EV.

Nio is actively warming up the audience before the Nio Day 2024 on December 21. Therefore, the Chinese carmaker shared a video of William Li’s corporate friends sharing their feedback on the Nio ET9.

Some of those people have nothing to do with the automotive segment. For example, the Chairman and CEO of the Midea home appliances maker Paul Fang. Other corporate friends included the CEO of Horizon Robotics smart driving solutions provider Yu Kai, the CEO of Bertelsmann China Corporate Center Annabelle Yu Long, and the ex-CEO of Volkswagen Group Herbert Diess.

- Advertisement -

In a short clip, Yu Kai described the Nio ET9 as luxurious and technological. Paul Fang admitted the ET9 exceeded his initial expectations. Annabelle Yu Long mentioned that this car is wonderful. And, of course, Herbert Diess commended after a test drive, saying ET9 “is impossible.”

Briefly on Nio ET9

The Nio ET9 is a full-size car with dimensions of 5324/2016/1620 mm with a wheelbase of 3250 mm. It rides on 23-inch wheels and adopts the steer-by-wire system and drive-by-wire chassis. Another feature of the ET9 is Nio’s own Shenji NX9031 5 nm intelligent driving chip. The interior of the Nio ET9 has four seats. The row seats have a cushion width of up to 582 mm.

The Nio ET9 adopts two electric motors with a combined peak power of 520 kW (697 hp). Its battery pack is 120 kWh with an energy density of 292 Wh/kg. The electric sedan is built on 925V architecture and supports 5C fast charging, enabling it to add 255 km of CLTC range in 5 minutes. Another fun feature of the car is the Skyride stabilization system. It allows this car to play tabletop football or drive with glasses of champagne over speed bumps.

The Nio ET9 will officially debut in China on December 21, the Nio Day 2024. Its price tag will start at around 800,000 yuan (112,000 USD).