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NIO Recalls ET5 Sedans for Possible Electrical Short in Case of Serious Collision

NIO has recalled 997 NIO ET5 sedans due to a potential safety hazard in the event of a serious frontal collision, according to China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).
NIO ET5 7 photos
Photo: NIO Media
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Specifically, a high-voltage wiring harness is positioned in such a way that if a frontal collision were serious enough, the harness could potentially be damaged and/or severed by a collapsing shock tower and result in an electrical short with the body.

The recall is limited to those NIO ET5 sedans manufactured between September 7, 2022, and October 10, 2022. The timeline of manufacturing dates indicates these vehicles were the first to hit the market. Affected vehicles will be retrofitted free of charge with a high-strength insulating protective cover over the wiring harness to eliminate any safety risk. NIO will perform the retrofit free of charge.

In addition, owners of the affected vehicles will be compensated with 10,000 NIO credits, which are equivalent to 1,000 RMB ($146.00). NIO credits are a reward system established by the company and can be used to make purchases at the NIO Life online store (NIO Life is the company's original design lifestyle brand that offers products ranging from clothing and accessories to lifestyle products and home furnishings) or pay for some services related to a NIO vehicle. A single NIO credit is worth 0.1 RMB ($0.015).

NIO is based in Shanghai, China and is in the business of making only all-electric vehicles. The NIO ET5 is a mid-sized 4-door sedan that began production in 2021 and was first delivered in September of 2022 with a starting price of $46,970. This past December. NIO delivered 7,594 ET5 vehicles representing 48% of total sales, according to CNEVPOST.

The vehicle is seen as a direct competitor to Tesla's Model 3 sedan. It's an all-wheel-drive (AWD) battery electric vehicle (BEV) equipped with a 100 kWh battery powering two motors (1 front axle, 1 rear axle) producing 490 hp (358 kW) and 516.29 foot-pounds (700 Nm) of torque. The ET5 has a range of 398 to 435 miles (640-700 km).

NIO is quite unique in the industry in terms of how it handles the issue of battery charging. In addition to conventional charging the company has established a network of battery swapping stations throughout China whereby drivers simply replace a depleted battery for a unit that is freshly charged.

At the Company's NIO day in December, CEO William Li introduced two models to join the NIO lineup, the EC7 and the refreshed ES8 that are scheduled to hit the market in mid-2023.

Recalls are a rarity for the relatively new company. In fact, one would have to back to 2019 to find the most recent. That recall involved 5,000 ES8 all-electric SUVs after several battery fires were reported on its home soil. The recall came almost one year after the ES8 hit the market.
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