Chinese electric car company Nio announced on May 27, 2026, that former NBA player Yao Ming (R) will represent the brand as it launches the ES9 SUV, a car that CEO William Li Bin (L) is touting as China’s largest SUV.
Lintao Zhang | Getty Images News | Getty Images
BEIJING – Chinese electric car company Nio trying to increase the quality of premium cars in a very competitive market.
The US-listed stock rose 9% on Wednesday, sending shares further into the green through 2026, after Nio officially launched its ES9 SUV at prices as low as 390,000 yuan ($57,470) when paying for battery power separately, every month.
It shows the continuing race to the bottom in China’s electric car market, despite Beijing’s efforts to curb excessive competition, often called involution.
When Nio launches its flagship ET9 sedan in late 2023, prices start at 800,000 yuan. But before deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2025, the consumer electronics company Xiaomi launched its first electric car – for 215,900 yuan.
For the new ES9, which Nio claims is the largest SUV in China, deliveries begin on Thursday.
CEO William Li showed off a number of things at the launch event in Beijing, from advanced driver assistance systems that can respond to traffic signs, to passenger seats with wood-colored tables that open up like those on an airplane. The ES9 also supports an in-car water boiler that allows passengers to drink tea.
Nio has signed on several brand advocates, including Robin Zeng, CEO of CATLthe battery industry giant, which confirmed in a marketing video that some 2,000 of its employees had purchased Nio vehicles.
Nio
Li also emphasized how the ES9 protects passengers with “intelligent safety” systems that can detect and reduce the impact from dangerous situations, and enabled China’s state broadcaster CCTV to broadcast live crash tests and other safety features.
Nio delivered 83,465 vehicles in the first quarter, almost twice as many as last year, but down 33% from the fourth quarter. The figure also includes Nio’s low-cost Onvo and Firefly vehicles, which the company launched two years ago to stay competitive in China’s weak consumer market.
TeslaThe Model Y was the best-selling SUV in China last month by deliveries, according to industry data website China AutoHome. Elon Musk’s car manufacturing company last week received approval from Beijing to introduce driver assistance in the country after years of waiting.
Nio’s ES8 ranked 10th in April deliveries for both electric and traditional gasoline vehicles.
Foreign automakers are also reviving competition in China’s premium market with lower prices.
Audi on May 8 started pre-sales of its electric SUV E7X with prices starting at 289,800 yuan, and is expected to officially launch the car on Friday morning. The car is the second under the German company’s China-focused new model, developed in collaboration with Shanghai’s SAIC, which replaces the four-ring logo with the names AUDI.
