- Nio president Qin Lihong said the five-seat ES8 will be launched in early July, marking the company’s first mention of the model.
- Nio expects to start sales in Hong Kong in the second half of this year, followed by the rollout of battery swap stations in the city.
Nio Inc will launch a five-seat version of its third-generation ES8 in the coming months to sustain the sales momentum of the large electric SUV (sport utility vehicle).
The company will roll out the five-seat ES8 in early July, with deliveries starting at the same time, co-founder and president Qin Lihong said at a weekend event in Shenzhen.
This is Nio’s first mention of a five-seat ES8. Speculation previously suggested Nio might update its five-seat ES7 SUV, but the model appears to have been abandoned as ES8 prices move lower.
No further details on the five-seat ES8 are currently available. The third-generation ES8 currently on sale is a large three-row SUV available in six- and seven-seat configurations.
Nio is in talks with potential partners to enter the Hong Kong market, Qin said at the event, adding that sales there are expected to begin in the second half of this year.
The company will subsequently advance the deployment of battery swap stations in Hong Kong to optimize the user experience between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
In June 2025, reports indicated Nio was expected to enter the Hong Kong market in the fourth quarter of that year by partnering with distributors to sell cars. However, this did not materialize.
The company officially launched a new strategic partnership in Macau on July 1, 2025, authorizing Guangdong Hongyue Automobile Sales Group as its sole general distributor in the region.
Nio already has two battery swap stations in Macau. Even before its official entry into the Macau market, the city had hundreds of Nio owners, given its proximity to mainland cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Hong Kong and Macau are right-hand drive markets, unlike the Chinese mainland. Macau allows the sale and purchase of left-hand drive vehicles, and its policies are friendlier to such models than Hong Kong’s.
Nio officially launched the third-generation ES8 at Nio Day 2025 on September 20, 2025, with deliveries starting the following day on September 21.
The company reached its 80,000th delivery of the third-generation ES8 on March 20, less than a month after the electric SUV’s 70,000th delivery, implying the model’s March deliveries will again exceed 10,000 units.
The SUV, which has a starting price of 406,800 yuan ($58,860), saw retail sales come in at 11,260 units in February.
The commercial success of the third-generation ES8 has been a key driver of Nio’s recent historic financial turnaround. The company reported earlier this month a GAAP operating profit of 807.3 million yuan for the fourth quarter of 2025, marking its first-ever quarterly profit.
While boosting near-term sales, the company is preparing to launch its new flagship ES9 SUV in the second quarter to consolidate its premium market position.
Nio will hold a technology launch event for the ES9 on April 9. The model’s official market launch will take place in May, with deliveries starting June 1, Qin previously said.
Nio released a winter test video of its ES9 SUV on Monday, highlighting the model’s handling and agility ahead of an April 9 technology event.
($1 = 6.9118 yuan)
