Chinese EV maker Nio announced on Friday two new color themes for its flagship sedan ET9.
The ‘ET9 Horizon Special Edition’ introduces two new color themes, “Shimmering Light on Water” and “Cosmic Moonlight” — each limited to 199 units.
The new color themes were launched under the dual-tone color ‘Horizon Edition’ released last year.
Sales for the executive sedan have been consistently below expectations since deliveries began in the first half of 2025.
The special edition is priced from 710,000 yuan ($102,900) under Nio‘s Battery as a Service (BaaS) subscription model, or 818,000 yuan ($120,500) with the battery included — matching the price of the standard ‘Horizon’ edition and carrying a 50,000-yuan premium over the base ET9.
The ET9 was unveiled at the company’s annual ‘Nio Day’ event in 2023, with the company formally launching the model — revealing its pricing and specifications — a year later.
Nio‘s in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, a steer-by-wire system, and an integrated hydraulic fully active suspension were all debuted with the ET9 model.
Prices for the standard version start at 660,000 yuan ($95,600) for customers who lease the battery separately — through Nio‘s Battery as a Service (BaaS) program — or 768,000 yuan ($111,300) when acquired with the battery included.
Premium Ownership
Nio is offering early buyers of the ‘ET9 Horizon Special Edition’ a premium ownership package valued at over 100,000 yuan ($14,500), available to customers who place a deposit by March 31.
The package is led by 10 years of complimentary battery swapping — up to four times per month — leveraging Nio‘s extensive swap station network across China.
As of Friday, Nio operated 3,761 battery swap stations across China, equipped with over 28,300 stalls.
On the intelligent driving side, the offer includes a decade of free access to NOP+ — the company’s advanced navigation-assisted driving system powered by the Shenji NX9031 chip — alongside six years of complimentary connectivity and enhanced data services.
Travel-related perks — including three years of chauffeur service at 30 hours per year and three years of business transfer service with six annual trips — reinforce the ET9’s positioning as a luxury executive sedan.
The ownership package comes as Nio looks to generate stronger demand for the ET9, which has consistently underperformed relative to the brand’s expectations since its launch in late 2024.
Unlike the third-generation of its flagship SUV ES8 — which sold out its 40,000-unit production run within minutes last September — the ET9 has struggled to gain traction in China’s increasingly competitive luxury EV segment.
Other Editions
Upon the model’s launch, the company unveiled a ‘First Edition,’ capped at 999 units, which sold out within 12 hours.
The ‘Signature Edition,’ made available shortly after, is still available — priced 20,000 yuan above the standard trim.
Nio unveiled the ET9 ‘Horizon Edition’ in mid-July — which adopts a two-tone body scheme and a brand-new wheel design.
The new edition was launched in mid-September, with deliveries beginning in the last week of the month.
Two additional color themes of the ‘Horizon’ edition were revealed at the Guangzhou Auto Show in November.
This January, the company also launched a new limited edition of its flagship executive sedan ET9, as it celebrated the one-millionth vehicle rolling off the production line.
The ‘ET9 One-Millionth Vehicle Commemorative Limited Edition’ was capped at just nine units, with three under each theme — ‘Mirror of the Sky,’ ‘Dawn at Daybreak,’ and ‘Golden Mountains in the Sun.’
Sales Figures
Nio sold 62 ET9 vehicles in its domestic market in February, staying below 100 monthly units for the second consecutive month.
February is typically one of the weakest months for Chinese automakers, as production and sales are disrupted by the New Year celebrations, which has led overall Nio deliveries to fall sequentially.
On the other hand, ET9 sales were up three units from January’s 59 units — the model’s lowest result since launch.
Market Share
Nio began deliveries of the ET9 in early 2025. In the final three days of March, the EV maker delivered 89 units of the sedan.
Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin previously forecasted monthly sales of “approximately 1,500 units” for the Nio ET9.
However, the highest figure reached was 810 units in April, the first full month of deliveries.
Nio has sold 2,719 units in the past ten months.
The ET9 remains a small fraction of Nio‘s overall vehicle registrations.
The 62 units registered in China last month accounted for just 0.4% of the brand’s 15,124 domestic sales — a total still largely driven by the new ES8 SUV.
