- The third-generation ES8 SUV will be officially launched at Nio Day 2025.
- Last week, a media report suggested that Nio might unveil a special edition Firefly EV at Nio Day 2025.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) announced today that Nio Day 2025 will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, in late September, during which the third-generation ES8 SUV (sport utility vehicle) will be officially launched.
This marks the first time Nio's annual flagship event has been moved from its traditional year-end timing to the fall, and unlike previous years, the host city was not selected through a user community vote.
Nio has not yet announced the specific date for Nio Day 2025. Hangzhou is the headquarters of automakers such as Geely Auto (HKG: 0175) and Leapmotor (HKG: 9863), as well as tech giants like Alibaba (NYSE: BABA).
In addition to the third-generation ES8, a media report last week suggested that Nio may launch a special edition Firefly EV at Nio Day 2025, based on the European version of the compact hatchback.
Firefly launched its first model, named after the brand, in China on April 19. The Nio sub-brand began deliveries of the Firefly EV in Norway and the Netherlands on August 14, officially entering the overseas market.
Nio announced on July 3 that it would move its annual flagship event, Nio Day, to the fall instead of the end of the year, partly to capitalize on the fourth-quarter sales peak season.
The company unveiled the third-generation ES8 on August 21 and began pre-sales of the large SUV, offering significant upgrades while pricing it notably lower than its predecessor.
Benefiting from the debut of the new-generation ES8 and the optimistic sentiment surrounding the launch of the Onvo L90 SUV, Nio saw a sharp rise in Hong Kong trading today, marking its seventh consecutive trading day of gains.
The third-generation ES8 is equipped with a 100-kWh battery pack, with a starting price of RMB 416,800 ($58,220) during the pre-sales period, including the battery pack.
This represents a reduction of RMB 139,200, or 25.04 percent, compared to the starting price of RMB 556,000 for the older 100-kWh version of the ES8.
Under the BaaS (Battery as a Service) battery rental plan, the pre-sales starting price for the third-generation ES8 is RMB 308,800, lower than the RMB 428,000 BaaS starting price for the older ES8 with a100-kWh battery pack.
In China's automotive market, the official launch price of a new model is typically lower than the pre-sales price.
The new ES8's cost is significantly lower than its predecessor, and the current pre-sales price still yields a gross margin, said Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li on August 22.
($1 = RMB 7.1596)
