Nio’s ES6 nears 300,000 deliveries after major tech upgrade

ES6 nears its 300,000th delivery milestone

Nio’s popular ES6 SUV is expected to reach its huge 300,000th delivery milestone this coming November. This number confirms the model is a long-term “evergreen” success in the electric car market. By Sept 30, cumulative ES6 deliveries stood at 289,912; Nio guides to 300,000 in November.

The ES6 was the second mass-produced model launched by Nio, following the larger ES8 SUV. To meet this November goal, the company needs a substantial sales increase, averaging approximately 5,000 units per month for the final two months of 2025.

Major technology upgrade launched on May 16, 2025

The landmark delivery follows a full technology upgrade given to the ES6 earlier this year. The powerful new version of the car, which includes over 200 standard features, was officially launched on May 16.

This release moved the vehicle to Nio’s advanced NT 2.0 platform, improving its innovative features and safety. The NT 2.0 upgrade also featured a significant 40% hardware refresh and a new ADB headlight design.

ES6 uses Nio’s in-house 5 nm Smart chip

The ES6’s assisted-driving stack is anchored by Nio’s in-house–designed 5-nm Shenji NX9031 chip (manufactured by a contract foundry), which Nio claims is comparable to four flagship Orin-class chips.

It works with Aquila Super Sensing, a 33-sensor suite (lidar, cameras, radars, ultrasonics) for perception.

ES6 has high power and quick acceleration time

The ES6 is equipped with a powerful motor system to deliver sporty performance. This power is distributed to all four wheels, providing excellent control and a quick acceleration time, making it competitive with premium sports cars.

All ES6 versions have a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup. This powerful system delivers a combined total output of 360 kW, coming from a 150 kW front motor and a 210 kW rear motor. The car can go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

Price drop with Battery as a service option

Nio allows customers to buy the ES6 at a lower starting price if they choose to rent the battery instead of buying it. This unique option is called Battery-as-a-Service, or BaaS.

The starting price for the ES6 drops significantly to RMB 268,000 with the BaaS plan. The full-purchase version includes a 100-kWh battery pack and costs RMB 70,000 more. The monthly rental fee for the 100-kWh pack under BaaS is RMB 1,128.

ET5 Touring is Nio’s new top-selling vehicle

Even though the ES6 is nearing a massive milestone, a newer model, the ET5 Touring wagon, has recently become Nio’s best seller each month. This sales shift shows that buyer interest is changing rapidly.

The ET5 Touring delivered 5,048 units in September, making it the top model. It has surpassed ES6 for the fourth consecutive month in monthly deliveries, despite station wagons typically being a niche market in China.

ET5 Touring had higher sales for the year 2025

When examining total sales from the beginning of the year, the ET5 Touring holds a slight lead over the ES6. This means the wagon has sold a total of 199 more units than the SUV this year.

From January to September, the ET5 Touring delivered 35,275 units. In the same nine-month period, the ES6 delivered 35,076 units. The ET5 Touring also won first place among mid-sized BEV sedans in the 2025 J.D. Power NEV-IQS study.

ES6 and EC6 have huge total delivery volume

The ES6’s success is even bigger when combined with its related model, the EC6 coupe SUV. Together, these two “6-series” models have sold a considerable number of vehicles, proving their market strength.

The total deliveries for the ES6 and EC6 have surpassed 370,000 units combined. These two cars account for about 49% of the premium electric SUV market above RMB 300,000. The EC6 also ranked first place in the premium BEV segment in the 2025 J.D. Power NEV-APEAL study.

All-new ES8 SUV had a large sales jump in September

The original Nio mass-produced car, the ES8 SUV, also had a great sales month recently, showing high demand for the brand’s larger vehicles. This latest version is built on the same NT 2.0 platform as the ES6.

The All-new ES8 SUV was officially launched in September. Its deliveries were their highest since January 2019, with the company delivering 2,803 units in just 10 days of that month.

ES8 was Nio’s third-highest selling model

The strong sales of the ES8 in September enabled it to rise in the brand’s internal sales rankings. This proves the larger model is still competing well against the newer, smaller cars.

The ES8’s strong performance made it Nio’s 3rd-highest-selling model in September. This placed it right behind the leading ET5 Touring and the ES6. The ES8 was Nio’s first mass-produced model, with deliveries beginning in 2018.

Total Nio deliveries set a new record in September

The company as a whole reached a huge new record for total vehicle deliveries in September. This high volume includes sales from Nio and its sub-brands, showing overall growth.

Nio Group delivered 34,749 vehicles in September, setting a new monthly record. This record number represents a massive 64.1% increase compared to the same month one year ago. The total included 13,728 from the Nio brand, 15,246 from ONVO, and 5,775 from FIREFLY.

Nio Group’s third quarter also set a high record

The high sales in September helped Nio Group set another huge record for total vehicle deliveries over the three months of the third quarter of 2025. This shows consistent market strength.

Nio Group delivered 87,071 vehicles in the third quarter of 2025. This quarterly total was a 40.8% increase compared to the third quarter of the previous year. For comparison, Nio Group delivered 72,056 vehicles in the last second quarter of 2025.

Total cumulative deliveries are nearing 900,000

Nio has been selling cars since 2018, and the total number of vehicles it has ever delivered is approaching one million. This demonstrates the brand’s enduring presence in the electric car market.

Cumulative deliveries for Nio’s brands reached 872,785 vehicles as of September 30, 2025. This includes Nio, ONVO, and FIREFLY vehicles. The company reached the milestone of 500,000 cumulative cars on May 9, 2024.

Management was surprised by the wagon’s popularity

Nio’s president and co-founder, Qin Lihong, publicly said he did not expect the ET5 Touring wagon to outsell the ES6. This was a surprise to the company’s leadership.

Qin Lihong shared his thoughts at a media roundtable held on September 21. He admitted that the wagon’s sales lead was “somewhat unexpected” and caused Nio to seek a more fundamental understanding of user needs.

Nio launched a campaign for the 300K milestone

To celebrate the upcoming 300,000th delivery of the ES6, Nio launched a special event for its customers to boost engagement and sales. The event was named the “Million Appreciation” campaign.

The campaign ran for 12 days from October 20 to October 31. It featured a three-tier reward program for test drives and new purchases. The user referral tier included a shared prize pool totaling 300,000 user benefit vouchers.

Want to see how these EV giants stack up on the road? Check out the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and Nio EP9 to see how far electric cars have come.

Price conversion used a specific rate for dollars

When the Chinese Yuan price for the ES6’s market segment is changed to US Dollars in global reports, a specific exchange rate is used to ensure the numbers are accurate.

The exact conversion rate used to translate the price was $1 = RMB 7.1265. This rate converts the ES6’s price segment of RMB 300,000 to about $42,100. It converts the full purchase price of RMB 338,000 to approximately $47,430.

Wondering who’s really winning China’s EV race this week? Dive into China EV registrations in week 27: BYD leads with 55,570, followed by Tesla, Xiaomi, and Nio.

What’s your take on Nio’s ES6 upgrade and milestone? Drop your thoughts below.

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This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.