(Yicai Global) Dec. 20 -- Nio has brought out its second electric vehicle, a smart mid-size sedan aimed at rivaling Tesla’s popular Model 3. Founder Li Bin said the new model will be the Chinese electric car startup’s cheapest.

The ET5 will be priced at CNY328,000 (USD51,420) before government subsidies, Li said on Nio Day held in Suzhou, Jiangsu province on Dec. 18. That compares with an after-subsidy price for an entry-level Tesla Model 3 of CNY255,652 and CNY219,900 for the P7 made by China’s Xpeng Motors. Deliveries are expected to start next September.

The ET5 offers three battery options that include packs of 75 kilowatt-hours, 100 kWh, and 150 kWh for respective travel of 550 kilometers, 700 km, and 1,000 km on a single charge. The ultra-long-range battery version is not yet available on Nio’s app. The new sedan also come with a Battery-as-a-Service option, which allows buyers to purchase one without the power pack for CNY258,000.

Battery swapping has become an important tool for Shanghai-based Nio to set itself apart from other brands, Everbright Securities said in a recent report. With the release of policies to support the practice, which enables drivers to instantly change batteries at swapping stations, the outlook for the new energy vehicle market is generally bullish, the report added.

Li, who is also Nio’s chief executive, said the company had 733 battery swap stations in China as of Dec. 18 and plans to reach 1,300 next year. Nio will also introduce its full-system services in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark in 2022 and serve over 25 countries and regions worldwide in 2025, he said.

Li predicted that 90 percent of the new cars sold in China in 2030 will be NEVs and that the ET5 will be the most ordered model in Nio’s history.

The electric car market is still in a stage of rapid penetration growth, Everbright Securities said, noting that the brokerage is optimistic about Nio’s financial capabilities. The automaker will further expand its user base and data volume through price cuts and by spinning off sub-brands, it added.

Nio delivered 10,800 vehicles last month, up almost 106 percent from a year ago.

Editor: Futura Costaglione, Xiao Yi