Since NIO Day in 2018, NIO has been quiet for a long time. Recently, NIO has re-entered the view of the automotive media. It started with the media test drive of the ES6, followed by the announcement of the self-built supercharging pile. However, these pieces of information are not significant enough.
On the last day of Q1, NIO finally released two big pieces of information.
ES6 starts mass production tomorrow, and 84 kWh will be delivered as early as July
ES6 doesn’t need too much introduction. Since its release on NIO Day last year, this car has been highly discussed and has attracted a lot of attention. On March 25th, we held a test driving event for the ES6 in Suzhou.
Just now, NIO announced on its app that the mass production of the ES6 will be opened at 7 am tomorrow. A total of 6,000 first edition commemorative models will be released. Users can choose from 6,000 exclusive limited-edition numbers after paying for the mass production.
According to the official statement, users can freely choose or change the number before locking in the order, and then engrave the limited edition number on the B-pillar badge. This number can be a meaningful number for yourself. For example, if you pay for the deposit under “42HOW,” you can choose the limited-edition number 42. If it’s taken, you can choose 4242:)
It should be noted that the limited-edition number is separate from the delivery order, and the limited-edition number does not affect the delivery order. Even if you are the first user to place an order, you will still be the first to be delivered the car, even if you choose the limited-edition number 7000.
Now, let’s talk about the new 84 kWh battery pack, which is what everyone is concerned about. NIO has explained the delivery time of different models.
This means that if you can’t wait, you can take delivery as early as June. For the 84 kWh version with the Ningde era NCM 811 formula, you can take delivery as early as July. Although more and more domestic automakers have announced the use of Ningde NCM 811 batteries, from the perspective of delivery time, NIO is likely to be the first.This approach is also very NIO. For hardware related to performance, NIO is accustomed to being the first to launch. Prior to this, many industry insiders were reserved about the delivery time of Ningde 811’s high-energy density battery pack. However, the delivery schedule shown above indicates that NIO is still continuing to push forward with the plan announced at last year’s NIO Day, “Delivery in mid-2019.”
Another highlight of ES6 is NIO Pilot. According to NIO’s plan announced this month, NIO Pilot will receive a major update before and after the delivery of ES6, with basic L2 level autonomous driving functionality.
NIO Pilot and 84 kWh battery pack, software and hardware upgrades, become ES6’s biggest highlights.
I know what you want to ask. As for whether there will be delays, the ES6 we test drove the other day was indeed still the 70 kWh version, and NIO Pilot was still not available. But the official website still reiterated “Delivery in July, opens when delivered.” Considering that there are only three months until delivery, I tend to think that NIO has a certain degree of confidence in achieving the goal on time.
Finally, for the first batch of owners who are impatient, NIO also provided production scheduling information. Users can check the production and logistics status on the App’s order page.
For first edition commemorative version users, if the payment deadline is earlier than 24:00 on May 19th, their production scheduling will be locked on May 20th. Users who pay the down payment after the first batch lock date will lock their production scheduling 7 days after the payment deadline.
Oh, by the way, there’s a small adjustment, “In order to optimize user booking experience, as of April 1, NIO has reduced the down payment from 45,000 RMB to 20,000 RMB for models that are currently on sale; the intention fee has been reduced from 5,000 RMB to 2,000 RMB.” Yeah, if you’re eyeing an ES6 but your family prefers the Model 3, the “shoot first, ask questions later” option just got more feasible 🙂
As we have said before, ES6 undertakes the heavy responsibility of repelling critics and attacking the mainstream foreign luxury brand market. This battle is coming soon.
Learn about ES8’s 0 interest rate purchase
ES6 is about to be delivered, and who is NIO’s saddest partner? Of course it’s ES8.
This impact is easy to understand, similar to the impact of Model 3 on Model S. And the closer we get to ES6’s delivery date, the more obvious this impact becomes, because for users, their waiting time cost also decreases.
Outside of ES8, the second saddest thing for NIO is Li Bin. After all, NIO is a listed company, and Wall Street pays great attention to quarterly financial reports. So my fellow countrymen, even though ES6 is good, we still need to buy ES8. But Li Bin has already said that ES8 will not be discounted. Regardless of brand loyalty or profit considerations, discounting to boost sales has become infeasible.To maintain sales without reducing prices, NIO has launched several limited-time finance products for customers who pay in April and sign for delivery. These include 0% installment loans, low down payment and low interest rate installment loans, as well as various flexible loan plans, including “50-50 zero month supply”.
Does this “50-50 zero month” mean half price down payment and paying the balance after one year?
Additionally, NIO has also provided new subsidy plans for 2019 after the subsidy decline.
The official statement is that this financing plan is only for customers who pay in April and sign for delivery, which is obviously a limited-time promotion policy for Q2’s financial report delivery figures. If you are really hesitating about purchasing an ES8, it is best not to miss this window. Although there is a chance to purchase the 84 kWh version by the end of the year, you still need to consider the continued subsidy decline factor shown in the above picture.
NIO, which has been in a dual vortex of stock price and public opinion for a long time, urgently needs a good product to break through.
NIO ES6 on stage, “Let the Bullet Fly” | 42HOW Live* ES6 VS Model 3? NIO VS Tesla
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.