Nio, a Chinese electric car manufacturer, has unveiled the ET5, its second all-electric sedan, which is a major rival to Tesla's most popular Model 3 sedan in the nation. Nio ET5 is a follow-up to the EV company's more pricey ET7 electric vehicle, which is considered as a rival to Tesla's Model S electric sedan.

The all-electric ET5, which was unveiled at Nio's annual Nio Day event in Suzhou, will be available in China beginning in September. It has a starting price of 328,000 yuan ($51,450) before government subsidies, and a leased battery costs 258,000 yuan. In China, the post-subsidy pricing of an entry-level Tesla Model 3 is 255,652 yuan.

Nio ET5's base model has a range of 550 kilometres (342 miles) on a single charge. "Because Nio has long concentrated on sports utility vehicles, the ET5 is a significant product for us... We had hoped for a model with a more reasonable pricing and a bigger customer base., "In an interview with Bloomberg, Nio's creator and CEO William Li said.

Following a debut into Norway earlier this year, the Chinese EV manufacturer plans to extend its geographical presence abroad. Next year, the Shanghai-based firm wants to expand into Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, with a goal of reaching 25 nations by 2025, including entry to the US market.

Despite facing difficulties due to the ongoing semiconductor chip crisis, the manufacturer delivered 10,878 cars in November and a total of 80,940 units - all SUVs - in the first 11 months of this year. The company's intentions to list in Hong Kong were similarly hampered by the supply constraint. The business intends to ramp up production of automotive chips in the middle or third quarter of next year, in the hopes of keeping the ET5 electric automobile on schedule.

Covid Roundup: India reports 5,326 cases; active cases falls to 79,097

Not safe from Omicron even after taking booster dose of vaccine

Parliament Session: BJP issues whip to party MPs mandating presence