In October, ZF and NIO inked a strategic partnership deal. The leading global technology company (ZF), and the innovative electric car manufacturer (NIO) will collaborate on the creation of steer-by-wire (SBW) devices as well as other areas.
Table of Contents
Information sharing is the first step
The NIO and ZF collaboration is one for the future and, in order to improve communication and participate in frequent technical exchanges to jointly implement industry-leading procedures and quality standards, both businesses have agreed to set up an immediate information-sharing system.
NIO and ZF want to expand their partnership to include customer service, product marketing, technological and quality improvements, and brand promotion.
“ZF’s new steer-by-wire system is a market-leading, cutting-edge technology. We are excited to be working closely with NIO, an outstanding representative of the Chinese automotive industry that is actively engaged in technology and business model innovation, and a pioneer in the globalization of the Chinese automotive industry. We will continue to expand our cooperation with leading automotive customers against the backdrop of the connectivity, electrification and autonomous megatrends, and give full play to ZF’s technology strengths to play an increasingly important role in the open automotive ecosystem.” said Dr. Holger Klein, Member of the Board of Management, ZF Group.
“As vehicles become increasingly electric, autonomous, and software defined, ZF has been establishing a leading position in the industry with its comprehensive by-wire technology offerings, and has been awarded significant contracts by multiple customers with steer-by-wire launches scheduled in all major regions,” said Christophe Marnat, Executive Vice President, Active Safety Systems, ZF Group.
The two parties will work together to further technological advancement in a variety of disciplines, including autonomous driving and electrification, as a result of the signing of this agreement, which is the first time ZF Group has collaborated with a client in the Asia Pacific region.
Dr. Holger Klein, Member of the Board of Management (BOM), ZF Group, William Li, Founder, Chairman and CEO of NIO, and senior management on both sides attended the signing ceremony while discussing a wide range of cooperation topics.
Kevin Pan, Associate Vice President, Supply Chain Development, NIO, and Dr. Peter Holdmann, Executive Vice President, Head of Division Car Chassis Technology, signed the agreement.
NIO expands on the European markets
At its European launch event in Berlin, the smart electric car firm NIO announced specifics of its goods and services for Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. Its introduction into the Norwegian market last year was followed by this expansion.
The ET7, EL7, and ET5, three new models developed on its NIO NT2 platform, will be offered alongside cutting-edge subscription models to promote EV usage. NIO will create a community via its innovative goods and services to provide the greatest user experience.
According to a NIO announcement, orders for the ET7, the company’s high-performance flagship sedan, are now being accepted in Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden. Deliveries are scheduled to begin on October 16th. The mid-size smart electric car NIO ET5 and the mid-large smart electric SUV NIO EL7 are both now accepting pre-orders from customers, with delivery beginning in January and March 2023, respectively.
The NT2 platform and eco-friendly materials
Due to their design, performance, intelligence, safety, and adaptable battery options, the three NIO models for Europe are based on NIO’s most recent NT2 platform and are built to provide an experience beyond expectations.
The use of cutting-edge and ecologically safe materials has been made possible by NIO’s “Design for Autonomous Driving” and “second living room” ideas, underscoring the elegant, pure, and modern design for which NIO is known. Performance is excellent as well, with a 34-meter stopping distance from 100 kph to zero and a 0-100 km/h time of four seconds.
Comfortable and full of tech
The sophisticated chassis system of the NT2 and careful model-specific tuning provide NIO’s vehicles with a sporty but pleasant ride. All are created with a five-star safety rating in mind and are marketed to a worldwide audience.
The cutting-edge CSU (Chargeable, Swappable, Upgradeable) architecture from NIO makes it possible to charge and change batteries while also having the option to update the battery capacity or take advantage of the newest battery technology.
The newest Banyan intelligent system from NIO is installed in all three variants. The vehicle computing platform, operating system, intelligent hardware, intelligent algorithms, and apps make up this full-stack technology, which will continue to develop thanks to FOTA upgrades.
NIO’s super-sensing system, which consists of LiDAR, ADAM, and NIO’s supercomputer platform with a computing power of up to 1,016T, will eventually be able to provide advanced safety assistance and automatic driving in situations like high-speed carriageways, urban areas, parking lots, and charging environments with the aid of intelligent hardware like Aquila.
The world’s first onboard artificial intelligence assistant, NOMI, is also standard on all three variants of the NIO PanoCinema panoramic digital cockpit. The inside is a totally immersive environment thanks to the Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 Sound System, 256 ambient light colors, a 12.8″ AMOLED central control panel, and high-performance AR and VR features.
