Chinese automaker Nio has accidentally dropped the name of its upcoming Mercedes-Maybach S-Class wannabe: ET9. According to Car News China, the corresponding model designation appeared on the Nio website shortly before it was gone again. The premiere remains scheduled for December 23, but the sales won’t begin until 2025.
There are still no official photos of the car. Rumor has it it will run on the company’s NT3 platform and make use of its proprietary self-driving hardware produced by Samsung.
With a wheelbase of 3.3 meters, the Nio ET9 has more space between the axles than the stretched S-Class but less than the Maybach S-Class. For the powertrain, the flagship EV will most likely use the new 300kW motors the company introduced this August.
Other than that, we expect the ET9 to look somewhat similar to the Nio Eve Concept revealed six years ago in the United States. You will find it in the gallery and the video here. It was a hatchback with sliding doors and a high-end autopilot system on board. Its launch in North America had been planned for 2020, but Nio ultimately admitted it lacked the technology and expertise to produce an S-Class rival so quickly.
