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A new electric vehicle driver touted the benefits of their purchase with a detailed post on social media.
The story will be familiar to many, as the share of EV drivers is increasing around the world, especially in Asia, where the poster lives.
“After six years with a Mercedes GLA200 here in China, I very much wanted an EV – and only an all-electric car,” they wrote. “Mainly I wanted to never pay for petrol again. As an added bonus, I was also looking for fun colour options (interior and exterior), a decent bit of power, rear or all-wheel-drive, plus a bunch of useful tech.”
The poster had a $42,000 budget and considered a Nio ET5, Tesla‘s Model 3 and Model Y, Mercedes-Benz’s EQA and EQB 250+, a BMW i3 eDrive 35L, and a Zeekr 001. (You can read their quick evaluations of each in the Reddit post.)
The poster settled on the Nio for its limo-like rear space, strong air conditioner, four-wheel drive, and three levels of regenerative braking.
“So much power, even feeling fast when in Comfort mode,” they wrote.
The car also changes lanes automatically and can be driven into and out of tight parking spaces from outside the vehicle. The poster added that they scored a $4,100 discount even though the sale took place after they had already picked up the automobile.
The perks go on, including a free home charger and four free battery swaps every month.
Their complaints were minor, such as poor rear visibility, a difficult-to-activate kick-to-open trunk, and the vehicle’s length and width.
🗣️ Which of these features would most effectively convince you to buy an EV?
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🔘 Premium luxury 💅
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Perhaps the biggest selling point was that the poster wrote “None!” under “big issues.”
“Overall, I’m a very happy new customer and a new EV owner,” they concluded. “Feel free to ask questions if you’re considering a Nio in Europe.”
Switching to an EV is indeed on the minds of drivers everywhere, as the vehicles reduce yearly gas and maintenance costs by $1,500 and greatly reduce the amount of planet-warming pollution emitted into the atmosphere — especially if they’re charged with renewable energy.
“I seriously hope they come to the US,” one commenter wrote. “That car is amazing.”
Another said: “Unfortunately unlikely until the politics change to more enable Chinese brands to come here. There is no more technical reason to avoid bringing these cars into the US. They already meet EU/UK/Aus safety standards and whatnot. But our tariff structure basically makes them a non-starter here unless the brand already has a foothold through existing dealerships and brand awareness (as in Volvo/Polestar).
“Going to get downvoted but plainly the Chinese EV OEMs are now doing the most exciting stuff in the market. The US consumer will lose out until we no longer have these artificial barriers. If we want affordable, quality EVs to help meet our climate goals, we have to enable the Chinese OEMs to come here.”
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