NIO's New ES8 Capacity of 40,000 Units for This Year Already Sold Out, Report Says

NIO’s third-generation ES8 SUV (sport utility vehicle) is another success following the Onvo L90 SUV, with a new report revealing its popularity.

Locked-in orders for the new ES8 have already surpassed NIO's announced production cap of 40,000 units for the model this year, a report by domestic media outlet LatePost said, citing a source close to NIO's management.

"The actual figure is significantly higher than that," the source said.

US-listed shares of NIO jumped 5.2% in overnight trading.

The third-generation ES8 was officially launched Saturday at NIO Day 2025 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, with locked-in orders -- non-refundable deposits -- opening around 9 pm Beijing time.

NIO founder, chairman, and CEO William Li pledged annual production capacity exceeding 40,000 units for the model, adding that if production constraints prevent fulfilling this year's orders, the company will compensate consumers for losses incurred due to next year's reduced vehicle purchase tax incentives from the government.

In today's communication with domestic media, Li said the ES8's performance exceeded expectations, as noted by LatePost's report.

Unlike most other Chinese electric vehicle (EV) makers, NIO never discloses pre-order or firm order numbers after new model launches.

When previously asked about orders following other model launches, company management often diplomatically said only that figures "exceeded expectations."

NIO debuted the third-generation ES8 and commenced pre-sales for the large SUV on August 21.

On September 17, Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin's team said in a research note that the ES8 had received about 100,000 cancellable orders -- pre-orders -- at that time.

The all-new ES8, featuring a 100-kWh battery pack, starts at RMB 406,800 ($57,170), a reduction of RMB 10,000, or 2.40 percent, from the pre-sales starting price of RMB 416,800.

This final price represents a reduction of RMB 149,200, or 26.83 percent, compared to the RMB 556,000 starting price of the older 100-kWh ES8 version.

Under the BaaS (Battery as a Service) plan, its starting price is RMB 129,200 (30.19 percent) lower than the RMB 428,000 BaaS starting price of the older ES8 equipped with a 100-kWh battery pack.

NIO produced a batch of third-generation ES8 vehicles in advance to enable rapid deliveries after market launch.

The company announced on Weibo today that deliveries of the third-generation ES8 commenced as scheduled, with Li and NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong personally handing over vehicles to the first batch of users.

During a September 2 earnings call, NIO management said the new ES8 would reach a production capacity of 10,000 units in October and 15,000 units in December.

From 2024 to 2025, China continues exempting new energy vehicles (NEVs) from purchase tax, but the tax exemption per vehicle does not exceed RMB 30,000.

From 2026 to 2027, China's NEV purchase tax will be levied at half the standard rate of 10 percent, with a maximum tax reduction per vehicle capped at RMB 15,000.

NIO published an article today on its mobile app detailing how it will compensate owners unable to receive their ES8 deliveries this year, aiming to build order reserves for the first-quarter off-season next year.

Customers who lock in orders for the all-new ES8 on or before December 31, 2025, will receive a subsidy voucher, according to the article.

If an ES8 order placed this year is delivered in 2026 due to reasons attributable to NIO, users may use this voucher to offset up to RMB 15,000.

Meanwhile, NIO also commits that if customers experience a delivery delay exceeding 8 weeks (56 days) for the new ES8, they will receive credit points worth RMB 50 per day starting from the 57th day of order locking in.