EV maker NIO released what may be its most important electric car yet, the ES6, in May. Despite its compact size, the NIO ES6 electric SUV is already making a significant impact.
NIO ES6 electric SUV sparks life into NIO
After launching its second generation ES6 on May 24, Chinese consumer behavior research firm CarFans released a report stating NIO gathered almost 30,000 pre-orders in three days.
Each store received around 90 pre-orders, with 20 confirmations (up 30% to 40% month-over-month). With about 330 stores, that’s roughly 29,700 reservations, with 6,600 confirmed.
The new ES6 breathed life into NIO, which helped fuel a new YTD monthly order intake record in May. NIO delivered over 20,000 vehicles in July, with 54% (11,118) being the new ES6, setting a new monthly sales record for a single model.
NIO is taking advantage of the increased demand, with a new report claiming the EV maker is producing at least 300 ES6 electric SUVs per day.
Local media outlet Caixin (via CNevPost) reported NIO had switched some of its facilities from single-shift to double-shift production, citing a person familiar with the matter. Its F1 facility mainly produces new ES6 models, while the ES8 has been shifted to the F2 plant.
The report states NIO halted production for five days in late July or early August to upgrade the production lines.
As a result, NIO’s insurance registrations have slipped over the past two weeks, down 20% in the first week of August and another 23% in week two.
Most important electric model yet?
The ES6 was initially introduced in 2018 as a more affordable option to the ES8 electric SUV, with deliveries beginning in late 2019.
Since launching, the ES6 has been NIO’s primary seller, representing nearly 64% of sales in 2020, 45% in 2021, and around 46% last year.
However, after introducing the next-gen NT 2.0 platform, NIO is focused on upgrading models. Built on the NIO Adam supercomputer (which is powered by Nvidia Orin SoCs), the system can handle a massive amount of applications and networks to power autonomous cars with 1,000 trillion operations per second.
The second-gen ES6 is NIO’s cheapest electric SUV, starting at RMB 368,000 ($51,600) for the 75 kWh battery and RMB 426,000 ($59,300) for the 100 kWh version. NIO also offers a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) option for RMB 298,000 ($41,500).
In June, NIO also launched the ET5T, its first electric station wagon, which will compete with Porsche and BMW in the European market.
Deliveries of the new flagship ES8 began on June 28, following the initial launch at NIO Day 2022 in December alongside the EC7.
The new ES6 represented 54% (11,118 units) of NIO’s EV deliveries in July, while the ET5T contributed almost 18% with 3,662 units. Meanwhile, NIO ES8 deliveries climbed 226% from June to 1,917, reaching its highest total since December 2021.