Nio‘s core brand recorded its first annual sales decline since the company began delivering vehicles in 2018, as weakening demand for its sedan lineup and entry level SUVs offset record performance from its three-row SUV ES8.
The Nio brand delivered 178,806 vehicles globally in 2025, down 11.1% from 201,209 units in 2024, according to the figures released by the EV maker on Thursday.
The decline marks the end of seven consecutive years of growth for the Shanghai-based premium electric vehicle maker since it rolled off the production line its first model, the ES8.
Historical Growth
Since delivering its first vehicles in 2018, Nio had posted consistent annual growth.
The brand delivered 11,348 vehicles in its inaugural year, followed by 20,565 units in 2019 — an 81% increase.
Growth accelerated in subsequent years: 43,728 vehicles in 2020 (+113%), 91,429 in 2021 (+109%), 122,486 in 2022 (+34%), 160,038 in 2023 (+31%), and 201,209 in 2024 (+26%).
The 2025 decline of 11.1% represents a reversal from that trajectory.
Sedan Struggles
The sales drop comes amid persistent weakness in Nio‘s sedan and entry level SUV lineup, which the management acknowledged in September.
In January 2021, Nio unveiled the ET7, marking the first model under its NT2.0 platform and the brand’s first-ever sedan.
Nearly a year later, at its annual event in December 2021, the company unveiled the ET5 — a smaller version designed to be Nio‘s entry-level model.
In mid-2023, Nio entered the station wagon segment with the ET5 Touring, known as ET5T in the Chinese market.
However, demand for both the ET7 and ET5 sedans fell short of expectations in 2024 and 2025 amid increasing competition and stronger market preference for SUVs.
The ET5 delivered over 6,000 units in February and March 2023 but failed to sustain momentum, with monthly deliveries falling to approximately 1,500 units by September of that year.
In 2024, the ET5’s strongest month saw approximately 3,100 units sold. In 2025, the best month was nearly half of that figure.
In mid-2025, Nio released facelifted versions of the ET5 and ET5 Touring, with the company saying the new editions brought “more than 500 upgrades.”
The 2025 models were priced at 298,000 yuan, or 228,000 yuan ($32,600) with the Battery as a Service subscription.
Despite the refresh, sales continued to decline.
The ET5 sedan recorded retail sales of just 984 units in November — down 47.5% year-over-year and 30.7% month-over-month.
The ET5 Touring fared better as the brand’s second best-selling model but still fell 22.6% year-over-year to 3,205 units.
Model breakdown of December figures will only be available later this month when China’s Passenger Car Association discloses detailed sales data.
SUV Focus
The group plans to launch three new models this year, all large SUVs, including the Onvo L80 five-seat SUV and a new flagship model to be named ES9.
Nio‘s co-founder and President Lihong Qin acknowledged the ongoing weakness in September when questioned by EV about the company’s broader product strategy.
“Recently, we have been putting more emphasis on the SUV lineup, because SUVs remain a large segment that is still growing in China, while sedans are gradually declining,” Lihong said on September 21.
“Other body types like MPVs and crossovers are small but stable. SUVs are the momentum, so we need to seize this strategic window and launch suitable products,” he added.
Lihong confirmed no new sedan will be introduced in 2026, with the next sedan potentially planned for 2027.
“Sedans we also plan, but in terms of timing priority, we have placed them slightly later. We will not launch a new sedan in 2026,” Lihong said.
Competition
Nio‘s sedan struggles coincided with the emergence of new competition in the segment.
As one of the examples, Xiaomi’s SU7 — the tech giant’s debut vehicle launched in March 2024 — secured 88,898 orders within the first 24 hours.
ES8 Success
While sedan sales struggled in 2025, Nio‘s third-generation ES8 became the company’s most successful model launch with over 100,000 firm orders based on the delivery waiting times.
Nio Group said Thursday it delivered 48,135 vehicles in December, including 31,897 from the core Nio brand. Over 20,000 of those were the third-generation ES8, the three-row SUV launched last September.
New ES8 orders currently face an estimated delivery time of 20 to 21 weeks, with vehicles expected to arrive in mid-May 2026, according to the company’s website.
Group Performance
While the core Nio brand declined, the broader Nio Group — which includes the Onvo and Firefly sub-brands — delivered 326,028 vehicles in 2025, up 46.9% from 221,970 units in 2024.
The group delivered 124,807 vehicles in the fourth quarter, meeting its revised guidance of 120,000 to 125,000 units.
