A top executive from the Chinese EV maker Nio challenged Li Auto on Friday to verify the authenticity of a video comparing the chassis performance of the two companies’ flagship SUVs — the Nio ES9 and the Li Auto L9 Livis.
The post, published by Nio‘s Assistant VP for Branding and Communications Ma Lin, marks the latest flashpoint in a rivalry that has been building for more than a year.
The video appeared to compare the ride quality of Nio‘s newly launched ES9 flagship SUV against Li Auto’s L9 Livis, a model that went on sale on May 15.
Ma Lin said the ES9 appeared to exhibit the same level of body oscillation in Standard Mode as it did in an ultra-soft setting where the fully active suspension operates at very low intensity — behavior he said does not align with the vehicle’s intended design.
“We hope Li Auto will officially verify the authenticity of the video and clarify its source, as well as provide details about the testing environment and suspension settings used during the test,” Ma wrote.
He invited consumers to visit Nio stores and test-drive the ES9 themselves, adding that the vehicle has received strong praise from both users and media since deliveries began on May 28.
The Assistant VP also hinted at the ES9’s early commercial momentum, posting a guessing game asking followers to predict which date in June the model would reach its 10,000th delivery.
The original video was no longer available on Li Auto‘s official channels as of Friday afternoon, though copies had been circulated by independent bloggers on Chinese social media.
A Rivalry Rooted in the Family Segment
The friction between Nio and Li Auto dates to the launch of Onvo, Nio Inc.’s family-oriented sub-brand, in May 2024.
Onvo was built to compete directly in the family vehicle segment that Li Auto had dominated since its first model debuted in 2019.
What separated the two was their powertrain philosophy: Li Auto built its lineup around extended-range electric vehicles before adding battery-electric models with the Mega MPV in late 2023, while Onvo and the broader Nio group maintained an exclusive commitment to fully electric vehicles.
Nio founder and CEO William Li acknowledged the overlap early on.
“Both Onvo and Beijing-based Li Auto target the personal use auto market and their prices overlap. I believe there will definitely be competition between the pair,” Li said in mid-2024, months before Onvo revealed plans for a six-seat SUV that would put the two brands on a direct collision course.
The Summer 2025 Clash
Competition escalated sharply in the summer of 2025 when both companies launched fully electric three-row SUVs targeting the same segment of well-off Chinese families: the Onvo L90 and the Li Auto i8.
The launches triggered a public clash between executives on Chinese social media, with accusations of smear campaigns on both sides.
On July 24, Li Auto Vice President Liu Jie posted a screenshot on Weibo suggesting a possible orchestrated campaign against the Li i8.
Liu cited a comment claiming to compare the model to the Onvo L90 and alleging that the Li Auto vehicle was unstable and nearly caused a crash.
Liu dismissed the claim, noting that user test drives for the i8 had not yet begun. The commenter later admitted to fabricating the story.
Onvo brand chief Shen Fei reposted Liu’s remarks and suggested Li Auto report the matter to police.
Days later, on the eve of the L90’s launch event, Shen escalated further — posting two comments under a Li Auto i8 advertisement on Weibo, inviting viewers to also test-drive the L90.
When users criticized the move, Shen responded that he did not have the budget to hire paid commenters, a pointed reference to Li Auto‘s use of actor and comedian Yue Yunpeng in its commercial.
Nio‘s stock surged 8% on the New York Stock Exchange on July 31 following the L90 launch.
Onvo chief Shen Fei later acknowledged the arrival of the Li i8 and the Tesla Model Y L as both a pressure point and an opportunity, noting that the emergence of multiple pure electric six-seat SUVs showed the segment was no longer a niche.
Li Auto’s Difficult 2025
The rivalry cooled in the months after the summer exchange, in part because Li Auto turned inward.
The Beijing-based automaker delivered 406,343 vehicles in 2025, an 18.8% drop year-over-year — its first annual sales decline.
By contrast, Nio recorded 326,028 deliveries across its three brands, and XPeng overtook both with 429,445 units.
Both of Li Auto‘s fully electric models — the Li i8 SUV and the Li i6 — had weaker-than-expected receptions.
A closed-door strategy review in October led the company to accelerate its product cycle, acknowledging that its four-year platform upgrade cadence was too slow for the market.
While Li Auto restructured, Nio shifted focus to its premium lineup, launching the all-new third-generation ES8 in September 2025 — a six-seat SUV that quickly became the best-selling large SUV in China.
The ES8 SUV outsold both the Onvo L90 and the Li i8 in the three-row segment by year-end.
Rivalry Reignites
Competition between the two companies flared again in mid-May, when both brands debuted new models on the same day.
On May 15 — coinciding with International Day of Families and Onvo‘s second anniversary — Nio‘s sub-brand unveiled the L80, a five-seat variant of its L90 SUV, while Li Auto launched the L9 Livis flagship SUV.
At a media event the following day, Onvo brand chief Shen Fei cited ‘unpleasant memories’ when asked to compare the L80 with Li Auto‘s lineup, recalling last summer’s social media confrontation.
“If people can avoid constantly putting our two companies together, I’d prefer that,” Shen stated. “What I care about more is the broader trend: pure EVs versus range-extender vehicles.”
Shen also dismissed Li Auto‘s extended-range framing.
The company had marketed the L9 Livis around a new tagline — “electricity in the city, electricity on the highway, and gasoline in the wilderness” — an update to its earlier positioning.
Shen questioned where the boundary between highway and wilderness lies and said the logic behind the powertrain choice “no longer really holds up.”
ES9 VS. L9 Livis
The rivalry has since expanded beyond Onvo to Nio‘s main premium brand.
The ES9 flagship SUV, which launched on May 27 at a starting price of 498,000 yuan ($73,400) including the battery, now competes directly against the L9 Livis in the premium large SUV segment — despite the different powertrains.
Li Auto cut the L9 Livis price by roughly 9% from a pre-sale level of 559,800 yuan to a launch price of 509,800 yuan for the top Livis trim — a move that sent the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares down 14.2% on the day of the announcement.
The price cut positioned the L9 below the ES9’s starting price, intensifying the direct overlap between the two models.
The ES9 is equipped with Nio‘s SkyRide fully active electrohydraulic suspension system, supplied by Clearmotion, alongside dual-chamber air springs.
The L9 Livis features an 800V fully active suspension system of its own on the top Livis trim, with steer-by-wire and four-wheel steering.
Both vehicles represent the technological flagships of their respective companies, and both carry in-house developed 5-nanometer smart driving chips — Nio‘s Shenji NX9031 and Li Auto‘s M100.
Early demand signals suggest the ES9 has outperformed internal expectations.
Buyers of the ES9’s two most expensive trims face wait times of 16 to 17 weeks, roughly four times the queue for the base model.
Additionally, the Shanghai-based EV maker built a pre-launch inventory of more than 6,000 units ahead of the launch — an unusually large stockpile designed to support same-day deliveries across the country.
Technology and Powertrain at the Core
At the heart of the Nio–Li Auto rivalry is a philosophical disagreement over powertrains.
Nio remains one of the few Chinese EV makers still defending a pure-electric-only approach, while Li Auto has doubled down on extended-range technology with the L9 Livis, which offers 420 kilometers of pure electric range and 1,650 kilometers of combined range.
Onvo chief Shen Fei addressed this divide directly at the L80 launch event.
“Only companies like Nio have fully committed themselves to betting on the pure EV path and continuing to push forward until quantitative change eventually becomes qualitative change,” the branf chief stated,
Shen added that Onvo‘s vehicles are roughly 400 to 600 kilograms lighter than comparable range-extended models — an advantage he said translates directly into handling, efficiency, and interior space.
Ma Lin’s challenge to Li Auto on Friday over the ES9 suspension video now extends that argument into specific product claims.
Nio has invested heavily in the ES9’s chassis credentials in recent weeks, including a 10,000-kilometer endurance challenge completed in under 95 hours and a televised safety showcase on state broadcaster CCTV the day before the ES9’s official launch.
As of press time, Li Auto had not publicly responded to Ma Lin’s statement.
