NIO’s first C sample of SiC e-motor system comes off production line

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIO announced the first C sample of its SiC (silicon carbide) electric drive system rolled off the production line on June 22. According to the company, the C sample is used for the testing and validation of crafts and production procedure.

Photo credit: NIO

Adopting SiC material, an electric drive system will be lighter, more compact, and runs more efficiently. For electric vehicles (EVs), the material can be applied in inverter, car-borne charger, fast charging pile, and other facilities. Thanks to these merits, many EV manufacturers are actively introducing SiC-related technologies.

As a product based on NIO's second-generation electric drive platform, the SiC e-motor system's mass-produced version will be first employed in the ET7, NIO's first sedan model.

Launched at the NIO Day 2020 in Chengdu, the ET7 carries a 180 kW permanent magnet motor in the front and a 300 kW induction motor in the rear. The maximum power is rated at 480kW with a peak torque of 850 N·m. It can zip from 0-100km/h within 3.9 seconds, and features a 33.5-meter braking distance from 100km/h. Boosted by a drag coefficient of 0.23 and the application of the second-generation high-efficiency powertrain with a SiC power module, the vehicle energy efficiency is further improved.

On May 13, the first validation prototype of the ET7 came off the assembly line at the JAC-NIO Advanced Manufacturing Center in Hefei, marking the flagship sedan going into the phase of production debugging. The ET7 is expected for delivery from the first quarter of 2022.