Fei Shen, the chief of Nio‘s sub-brand Onvo, said on Wednesday that the launch of new six-seat rivals — the Tesla Model Y L and the Li Auto i8 — brings pressure to the brand but also an opportunity.
Tesla started on Tuesday accepting orders for its new six-seat Model Y version with prices starting at 339,000 yuan, equivalent to $47,180. According to the company’s website, the first deliveries are planned for September.
Li Auto, the Chinese carmaker which launched the six-seat SUV i8 in late July, began nationwide deliveries earlier this Wednesday
“The six-seat SUV market is particularly lively in the second half of the year,” Shen wrote on Weibo.
According to China’s Passenger Car Association (CPCA), sales of fully electric models rose 24.5% year on year in July, while plug-in hybrids fell 0.2% and range-extenders declined 11.4%.
“I saw the data from the CPCA a few days ago: the entire pure electric market is growing rapidly year-on-year, while range-extenders and plug-in hybrids are declining year-on-year,” Onvo‘s chief added.
Earlier this week, the brand’s head said Onvo is running both its L90 and L60 production lines at full capacity as demand for its new flagship model continues to grow.
As reported on Tuesday, the brand registered 3,790 vehicles in China last week, its second-highest weekly tally since deliveries began nearly a year ago.
The figure was up 17% from 3,240 units in the previous week, driven by strong uptake of the new L90 SUV, which was unveiled on July 31 and entered deliveries the following day in more than 40 cities.
The L90, offered in six- and seven-seat configurations, accounted for 2,330 registrations last week, up from 2,090 a week earlier.
Shen Fei said the launch of two new rivals represent “both a pressure point and an opportunity point” for Onvo.
“The Model Y L was officially released today, and the Li Auto i8 is about to begin deliveries. More and more pure electric six-seat SUVs are appearing,” he wrote.
“For our team, this is both a pressure point and an opportunity point,” the executive added.
Shen Fei noted the market’s interest for fully electric six-seat models saying they aren’t a ‘niche choice’ anymore.
“It shows that with the maturity of charging and battery-swapping infrastructure and pure electric technology, a ‘pure electric large six-seater’ is no longer a ‘niche choice,’ but is becoming a new alternative for more family users,” he wrote.
Onvo has currently more than 400 stores across China with over 500 display L90s and 1,000 test drive units for potential customers, according to the executive.
“We welcome everyone to visit stores across the country, compare more, test more,” Shen Fei concluded.
