A senior executive at Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) hinted that the average transaction price of the Chinese EV maker’s main brand vehicles is rising rapidly, highlighting that the company maintains strong brand appeal in China’s fiercely competitive premium auto market.
Ma Lin, Nio’s vice president of branding and communications, said Monday on Weibo that the average transaction price of the Nio main brand vehicles exceeded 450,000 yuan ($66,330) last week.
He hinted that this average transaction price has surpassed major rivals including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and the Huawei-backed Aito.
Ma invited his followers to guess the average transaction price of the Nio main brand for June and will offer Dragon Boat Festival gift boxes to the three closest guessers.
This strong upward pricing trend is mainly due to the recent launch of the new flagship SUV (sport utility vehicle) ES9. In addition, the continued hot sales of another large SUV, the ES8, have also provided important support for the increase in the average transaction price.
The ES9 has a starting price of 498,000 yuan including the battery pack, while the earlier launched ES8 also maintains a high starting price of 406,800 yuan including the battery.
These two models are among the highest-priced in the Chinese market, and their strong sales are significantly improving Nio’s overall financial outlook.
A team led by Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang predicted in a research note earlier today that Nio is expected to continue achieving non-GAAP profitability in the second quarter, with non-GAAP net income reaching about 180 million yuan.
A stable gross margin is considered a key support for this profit forecast. The bank believes that Nio’s second-quarter vehicle margin guidance of 17% to 18% is achievable.
This is largely attributed to the high-margin ES8 and ES9 SUV models accounting for a higher proportion of total sales.
The market performance of the ES9 is particularly outstanding. Ma announced last week that Nio will deliver the 10,000th ES9 in June.
This exceeded general market expectations, Deutsche Bank said. The team noted that this implies Nio could deliver at least 7,000 ES9s in June, surpassing the bank’s previous assumption of 6,000 units.
Deutsche Bank estimates that the ES9 has already garnered over 25,000 non-cancelable orders, leading to long delivery wait times.
Customers ordering the base version of the ES9 face a wait time of 8 to 9 weeks. Meanwhile, the higher-end versions equipped with the advanced SkyRide suspension system currently have a wait time of up to 16 to 17 weeks.
Based on this strong momentum, Deutsche Bank raised its full-year delivery forecast for the ES9 in 2026 to 56,000 units.
In addition to the strong performance of the ES9, Nio’s other large SUV, the ES8, has also maintained strong sales momentum.
Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said on June 5 that the all-new ES8 is expected to complete its 120,000th delivery within this month.
The model delivered 11,475 units in May, surpassing the 10,000-unit delivery mark for the seventh consecutive month. The 110,000th milestone was reached on May 23.
Sales momentum continued to accelerate in the second quarter. Nio delivered 37,705 vehicles in May, setting the company’s highest single-month delivery record so far this year, up 62.3% from a year earlier.
Looking ahead, Nio expects its total deliveries for the second quarter to be between 110,000 and 115,000 vehicles.
Based on deliveries over the past two months, the company’s deliveries in June are expected to be between 43,000 and 48,000 units.
($1 = 6.7841 yuan)
