Chinese EV maker Nio delivers its first ET7 electric sedans

Nio confirmed Monday it has begun deliveries of its new luxury sedan, the ET7, on schedule, sending U.S.-traded shares of the Chinese electric vehicle maker higher in morning trading.

Nio said in a statement that the first batch of ET7s was delivered to customers on Monday during an event at its headquarters in the city of Hefei, China.

Nio began offering test drives in preproduction ET7s in early March. It said on Monday that users in more than 80 cities have tried the ET7, and that orders following test drives have been running at a rate higher than it expected. The company didn't reveal how many orders it has received for the new model.

The ET7 is the first new Nio electric vehicle to use the company's second-generation architecture, called NT2.0. The new architecture has more robust computing power, allowing for new features including more advanced driver-assist systems. Two more new Nio models built on the NT2.0 architecture, a smaller sedan called the ET5 and an SUV called the ES7, will follow the ET7 later this year.

In addition to the new architecture, the ET7 comes equipped with a suite of cameras and sensors, including an integrated lidar sensor. The sensors and added computing power will support Nio's advanced driver-assist system and, eventually, fully autonomous driving.

Nio confirmed that subscriptions to an automated highway-driving system similar to Tesla's Autopilot will be available to ET7 owners in some regions beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022.