Overview
- Nio on Thursday pre-launched the ES9 and opened pre-sales at 528,000 yuan, or 420,000 yuan with its Battery-as-a-Service option.
- The three-row SUV uses Nio’s Shenji driving chips, a 900-volt platform, a 520 kW dual-motor setup, and a 102 kWh CATL pack rated up to 620 km on China’s CLTC test.
- Nio introduced High-Definition Projective Lighting that can project the car’s planned path onto the road by linking pixel headlights to the driver-assist navigation model.
- CEO William Li said orders from first-time Nio buyers are running more than 1.5 times the early pace of last year’s ES8, and management expects the ES9 to deliver Nio’s highest SUV gross profit.
- The rollout now moves to an app configurator on May 11, a full launch on May 28, and deliveries starting June 1, while CICC raised its Nio target price by 23% after the pre-launch.