NIO Launches Two Major Electric Models, CEO Li Bin Predicts 2025 as Turning Point for EV Development

NIO Launches Two Major Electric Models, Li Bin Claims 2025 Will be a Turning Point for Electric Vehicles

On September 20, during the 2025 NIO Day event, NIO unveiled two significant electric models: the intelligent electric executive flagship ET9 Horizon Special Edition and the all-scenario technology flagship SUV, the new ES8. Liu Qingfeng, Chairman of iFlytek, became the first owner of the new ES8.

NIO’s founder, Chairman, and CEO, Li Bin, provided a detailed introduction to the advantages of the new ES8, highlighting its spaciousness, intelligence, and safety features. Li stated, “The new ES8 is the culmination of ten years of foundational technology innovation from NIO.”

On-site observations noted that Li was attempting to “extract the meat from the rice,” a reference to prior feedback indicating that while the new ES8 has many advantages, these benefits were not clearly communicated. He confidently predicted, “The golden age of large electric SUVs has arrived.” He believes that by 2025, the positive user experiences from electric vehicles will outweigh the inconveniences of traditional refueling.

The new ES8 is priced at a starting point of 406,800 yuan, which is 10,000 yuan less than its pre-sale price. In comparison, the ET9 Horizon Special Edition, which will be officially launched at the 2024 NIO Day, is touted as the pinnacle of NIO’s technological innovations over the past decade.

The ET9 Horizon Special Edition starts at 818,000 yuan for direct purchase, and 710,000 yuan when opting for the BaaS battery rental model, with deliveries set to begin at the end of September. The ET9 has a starting purchase price of 788,000 yuan and 660,000 yuan with the BaaS option, and deliveries for it commenced in March.

Following the launch of the ET9 Horizon Special Edition, the new ES8 took center stage at the 2025 NIO Day. Li reported, “The new ES8 has been very popular, with 150,000 test drives in just ten days.” In August, the new ES8 entered pre-sale with an initial purchase price of 416,800 yuan and 308,800 yuan with the BaaS battery rental model. The official pricing revealed a reduction of 10,000 yuan from its pre-sale price, starting at 406,800 yuan for purchase and 298,800 yuan for the BaaS option, with deliveries commencing on September 21.

The new ES8 boasts a storage capacity of 777 liters, even when fully loaded with six passengers, featuring a 230-liter sensor-equipped electric front trunk and a 547-liter rear trunk, including a class-leading 132-liter lower storage compartment. This storage capability surpasses that of the newly launched NIO ES6, where Li previously stated, “Each seat is a VIP, and we can easily accommodate ten pieces of luggage.”

With the new ES8, NIO aims to showcase its ambition to create an all-encompassing intelligent vehicle in the AI era. Li emphasized that the new ES8 utilizes the “SkyOS” operating system, integrating intelligent hardware, computing platforms, communication, and energy systems to manage and coordinate a wide range of applications including vehicle connectivity, control, intelligent driving, digital cockpit, and mobile applications.

The new ES8 features a cutting-edge digital architecture and a comprehensive operating system, employing a centralized integrated architecture with self-developed smart driving chips and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, ensuring robust computing power and high integration.

Li highlighted that the new ES8 is designed for high-level intelligent driving and incorporates the latest technologies in NIO’s advanced driver assistance systems, featuring the world’s first production-ready system based on world model technology.

Additionally, the new ES8 is equipped with the next-generation NOMI Mate 3.0, which integrates NIO’s proprietary NOMI Intelligence and offers unique emotional expression capabilities and efficient interactive communication. It employs an advanced multi-agent architecture that enables the new ES8 to control over 3,000 functions across 19 domains.

As of September 20, NIO has established a network of 8,246 charging and swapping stations across the country, including 3,500 battery swapping stations and 4,746 charging stations, leading the industry in the number of installations.

Moreover, NIO has developed a nationwide high-speed battery swapping network covering 16 major urban clusters with over 1,000 highway battery swapping stations, connecting 550 cities. Li noted that the Chinese intelligent electric vehicle sector has made remarkable advancements over the past decade, with NIO investing over 18 billion yuan in charging and swapping infrastructure to build the world’s strongest energy replenishment network.

In core technologies for intelligent electric vehicles, NIO has invested over 60 billion yuan over the past decade to establish a comprehensive R&D system and has filed more than 9,900 patents globally. With these advantages, NIO aims to lead the high-end large SUV market into the electric era.

NIO originally launched the first-generation ES8 in 2017, pioneering the large electric SUV segment in China. The new ES8 marks the first intelligent electric vehicle to undergo three generations of iterations. Li concluded, “The era of electric large SUVs has begun.” He noted that with more electric large SUVs entering the market, their sales growth is outpacing that of extended-range, hybrid, and fuel vehicles.