NIO shows off its new ET9’s soccer skills and teases second-generation phone coming soon

If you’re a fan of soccer (or football, depending on where you live), you’ve been blessed with some exciting championship matches around the world recently. To celebrate the beautiful game, NIO has shown off some juggling, dribbling, and scoring skills of its new ET9 EV using its unique, fully-active suspension. See more in the videos below.

The ET9 is a new luxury BEV on the way from Chinese automaker NIO. We first caught wind of this ultra-luxurious model back in December 2023, before NIO confirmed its pending arrival as a competitor to executive vehicle specialists like Maybach.

We’ve since learned that the new NIO ET9 will sit atop an impressive 900V platform with an upgradable wire-controlled chassis. Here’s what NIO vice president of electric drive and high-voltage system, Bi Lu, said at the time:

On the upcoming flagship model ET9, we adopt a ’900V’ high-voltage architecture that breaks the industry upper limit, which means that on the premise of further reducing the weight of the high-voltage wiring harness in the car, we can achieve the ultimate experience of faster charging performance for the entire vehicle. Combined with NIO’s unique ultra-fast power replacement system, it creates the best solution for comprehensive energy replenishment experience. At the same time, on the new intelligent electric drive platform, in order to meet the higher requirements for flagship models in terms of space and comfort, we have further reduced the weight and volume of the motor, and adopted a number of ‘black technologies’ in product design to achieve higher power density.

We got our first demonstration of the ET9’s advanced chassis technology this past February when NIO posted a video of the luxury sedan shaking loose snow off its exterior like a husky. This past weekend, NIO demonstrated some more cool gimmicks the new ET9 can perform. I have to admit that this flahship executive BEV is better with a soccer ball than I am.

The two videos NIO posted to Weibo show the incoming BEV’s impressive control and clean movements. It can juggle a soccer ball on its roof by essentially bouncing its frame up and down. NIO shared that the ET9’s fully active suspension body adjustment speed is 60 times faster than an air spring.

The active suspension electric drive unit’s high-frequency response and fast adjustment mean it can keep a soccer ball in the air, but that doesn’t mean much to consumers. However, that technology translates to an unbelievable balance of control, comfort, and safety, which should make for an impressive driving experience when it hits the market.

What may be more impressive than the juggling is the independent four-wheel suspension’s ability to instantly move with balance, enabling NIO to manipulate a tiny soccer ball on a toy field on the ET9’s roof. Per the caption in NIO’s Weibo video playing in a “soccer maze:”

ET9 shows everyone a new skill: football maze. With the help of the built-in gyroscope of the mobile phone, the Tianxing fully active suspension is wirelessly controlled through Bluetooth communication to achieve six-way free movement of the vehicle body. The industry’s only active suspension electric drive unit has precise control, low latency, and fast response. Passing and shooting are done in one go!

Another interesting tidbit in the video is a peek at NIO’s second-generation phone, which controls the new ET9’s active suspension during the soccer maze. NIO launched its first Android-based phone in September 2023 and promised to release more generations each year, similar to Apple and the iPhone.

NIO has not confirmed any details of its next-generation phone yet, but media in China has surmised that it will get an official unveiling during NIO’s upcoming IN innovation day, scheduled to take place two weeks from now in Shanghai.

The new ET9 is slotted to begin initial deliveries in China in Q1 2025 and has a pre-sale price of RMB 800,000 ($110,000).