Nio shared a new video promoting its active suspension system, Skyride, which will debut on the ET9 flagship sedan in early 2025. Moreover, it teased the Nio Phone 2.
In the video, Nio ET9’s active suspension quickly adjusts to the phone’s movement. Tabletop football is mounted to the top of the car, so the whole “playground” moves with the vehicle, and the player can direct the ball into the net.
This is because the Skyride suspension is connected via Bluetooth to the phone, which is, like all smartphones, equipped with a gyroscope so that the car can imitate the phone’s movement. The whole test is conducted by Nio’s senior engineer Neil Lei.
Nio’s Skyride intelligent chassis system is the world’s first integrated hydraulic fully active suspension, according to Nio. This system can respond within one millisecond, and the high-performance brushless motor can make up to 1,000 torque adjustments per second.
Another feature is the independent control of all four wheels. Each of ET9’s four wheels can be controlled independently, allowing for six-way adjustment, Nio claims.
This capability is promoted in the video – when playing tabletop football (Nio calls it a soccer maze), the car body can be adjusted along six axes using the phone’s gyroscope. The Shanghai-based startup wants to showcase that active suspension electric has low latency and quick response times, providing high control precision and a fluid driving experience.
The Skyride suspension adjustment range is between +40 mm and -50mm, catering to various driving scenarios. The system can raise the vehicle by 40 mm in 2 seconds and lower it by 50 mm in less than 2 seconds.
This capability Nio promotes in another video shared by Wang Yufei, Head of the Chassis team. In the video shared on Weibo, Nio ET9 is juggling the ball on its roof.
Wang comments that “the ET9’s SkyRide active suspension adjusts 60 times faster than traditional air suspension.”
The phone used for controlling the Skyride chassis is the Nio Phone 2, confirmed Bai Jian, vice president of hardware development. Nio Phone 2 will be launched in early August in Shanghai.
The supplier of Skyride suspensions to Nio is ClearMotion, a US-based startup. The startup from Boston that aims “to make car rides less bumpy and more fun” raised 39 USD million, led by Nio Capital, in September 2022. In April, it was revealed that Porsche would join the bandwagon and use Clearmotion’s active suspension tech.
Clearmotion received an order for 3 million suspension-related products from Nio, covering the production of 750,000 vehicles. This doesn’t represent the ET9 production capacity.
Nio ET9 will be the most expensive car from Nio and will launch in early 2025. It was unveiled on Nio Day in December 2023, and preorders for 800,000 yuan (110,000 USD) were started.
