This Tesla Model Y Clone From Nio Might Be Even Better

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The Onvo L60 has a 900-volt platform, better efficiency and it’s more affordable than Tesla’s Model Y.

• The Onvo L60's design was heavily inspired by the Tesla Model Y.
• It has a new 900-volt EV platform and it undercuts the Model Y on price.
• It makes a strong first impression in this review from China.

There’s no getting around the fact that the design of Nio’s Onvo L60 was heavily inspired by the Tesla Model Y. From many angles, you might even mistake it for a Tesla, and even the interior seems very similar to what you can see aboard a Model Y in terms of its layout and overall design.

However, while its design is unquestionably derivative, it has just enough of its own character for us not to call it a blatant copy. It actually looks a bit better than the Model Y (let us know in the comments if you agree), especially from the side, with a less bubbly greenhouse and a sportier profile.

If you still aren't convinced that Onvo designers were heavily influenced by Tesla when creating the L60, just check out the design of the aero wheels on the car in the review posted by ChinaDriven. If we changed the badge, you would probably be fooled into thinking you’re looking at a base Tesla wheel.

The L60 is great at slicing through the air with its 0.229 drag coefficient, which makes it one of the slipperiest crossovers ever—it’s better than the Model Y’s 0.236 Cd. It’s also not that heavy for an EV its size, weighing just under 4,000 pounds with the standard battery. It runs on Nio’s new 900-volt platform enabling it to be slightly more efficient than the Model Y.

It’s pretty quick to charge too. The base standard range 60.6 kWh version needs 25 minutes for the 10 to 80% charge, and it takes 20 minutes for the larger 80 kWh long-range pack. Onvo has not revealed the charging power numbers, but it has announced that the L60 can go in for a battery swap at Nio’s third- and fourth-generation swapping stations.

The base car has a single 321 horsepower motor driving the rear wheels. The dual-motor version adds a drive unit on the front axle for a combined 456 hp. The 60.6 kWh single-motor L60 is rated for up to 555 km (345 miles) CLTC on one charge. That drops to 525 km (326 miles) in dual-motor cars. The official range numbers for the larger battery haven’t been announced.

You can order an Onvo L60 in China for 219,900 yuan ($31,000), which makes it around 30,000 yuan ($4,300) cheaper than Tesla’s Model Y. Onvo expects to initially sell over 10,000 L60s every month, which should double next year.

When it announced the creation of the Onvo sub-brand, Nio said it was also aimed at the European market, so we should see the L60 debut in Europe at some point in the future. Nio is already present on the continent, so it will have an easier time launching a second brand, although whether the L60 reaches Europe ultimately depends on how high the new EU import duties on Chinese cars will be.

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