Nio completed the delivery of its 130,000th third-generation ES8 on July 22, 2026. Credit: Nio
- The latest 10,000 deliveries took just 1 month, suggesting the third-generation ES8’s delivery pace is returning to the 10,000-per-month level.
- The 130,000th ES8 delivered is the five-seat version, whose deliveries began on July 10.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) has completed delivery of its 130,000th third-generation ES8, highlighting the resurgence of momentum for its best-selling SUV (sport utility vehicle) following the introduction of the new five-seat version.
The company reached this latest milestone on Wednesday, in Jinhua, Zhejiang, with the ES8 delivered being the five-seat version.
The third-generation ES8 reached the milestone 305 days after deliveries began in late September 2025, according to a statement by the EV (electric vehicle) maker.
The model completed its 120,000th delivery on June 22, 275 days after launch. That means the latest 10,000 units took just a month, suggesting the delivery pace is on track to return to the 10,000-per-month level.
The large electric SUV saw 8,969 deliveries in June, down 21.85% from May, ending a seven-month streak of monthly deliveries above 10,000 units.
Nio ES8 Monthly Deliveries 2024-2026
Month
2024
2025
2026
January
615
446
17,658
February
414
479
11,271
March
802
514
16,255
April
773
539
13,028
May
937
292
11,475
June
882
839
8,969
July
822
1,090
August
857
87
September
766
2,812
October
747
6,716
November
572
10,705
December
1,001
22,276
Nio ES8 monthly deliveries
2024
2025
2026
Nio Inc delivered 40,597 vehicles in June, slightly below the figure implied by its previous quarterly guidance, despite being a new high for the year.
Deutsche Bank analysts previously noted that some consumers held off on purchases while waiting for the five-seat ES8’s launch, which was the main reason Nio’s overall June deliveries came in slightly below guidance.
The five-seat ES8 was launched on July 9, with deliveries beginning the next day. The variant starts at 382,800 yuan ($56,350) including the battery pack, 5.9% lower than the three-row version.
With the BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental option, the five-seat version’s starting price drops to 274,800 yuan.
The owner of the 130,000th ES8, surnamed Guo, is a tech company founder. He said he had always wanted a large five-seat SUV with more space and flexibility, adding that the vehicle can form a four-seat layout when the second-row center armrest is folded down, meeting both business and daily-use needs.
From January to June 2026, the ES8’s retail sales totaled 78,618 units, ranking first for the first half of the year in both China’s large SUV segment and the 400,000-yuan price segment, according to Nio.
With the addition of the five-seat version, the ES8 family now offers a complete lineup of five-seat and six/seven-seat configurations. Together with the executive flagship ES9, which launched in May with a starting price of 498,000 yuan, Nio has built a product matrix covering the premium large SUV market.
The third-generation ES8 is a high-margin model and a key driver of Nio’s recent financial turnaround. Boosted by flagship models, the main Nio brand’s average transaction price reached 443,000 yuan in June.
Deutsche Bank expects Nio to achieve non-GAAP breakeven in the second quarter, given the strong contribution from high-margin models.
William Li said that Nio is working with its supply chain partners to find ways to offset some of the costs and strive to keep prices stable.
($1 = 6.7933 yuan)
