Insurance registration data from China showed that weekly sales of Nio’s premium brand dropped 34% to 2,500 units in the first week of July — the lowest level since the opening week of the second quarter, when the company registered 1,800 units before the rollout of its refreshed model lineup.
The decline comes after a typical end-of-quarter sales push in late June, a pattern reflected across most Chinese automakers.
Nio Group, which includes its core Nio brand as well as the newer Onvo and Firefly marques, posted a total of 5,110 insurance registrations in China last week, down 18.9% from 6,300 units the week before.
Despite the recent refresh, the company launched a series of limited-time incentives at the start of July for the recently updated ET5, ET5 Touring (ET5T), ES6, and EC6 models.
The ET5 contributed 11.9% of Nio Inc’s full-year deliveries in 2024, and the ET5T contributed 22.9% meaning that over 1 in every 3 cars sold from Nio was one these models.
The offers include up to 28,800 yuan ($4,010) in combined subsidies through interest-free financing, five years of complimentary battery swapping, and access to the brand’s assisted driving features — the latter valued at 22,800 yuan ($3,180).
Additional benefits include a free home charging installation package, 4,000 yuan ($557) in optional upgrade vouchers, and credits for battery top-ups at Nio Power stations.
Last month, Nio launched “Champion Editions” of the ET5, ET5T, and EC6, with starting prices ranging from 246,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan after subsidies. These variants are also eligible for the July purchase benefits.
Over the next six months, the Group will launch the new ES8 SUV under the Nio brand and Onvo’s second and third models, named L90 and L80.
Despite the promotional activity, Nio brand deliveries fell 31.2% year on year in June to 14,593 units — the second straight month of annual declines.
The brand had delivered 21,209 vehicles a year earlier, which remains its all-time monthly record. In May, deliveries had already dropped over 30% both sequentially and compared to the previous year, falling to 13,270 units.
Other automakers also posted sharp declines in the first week of the third quarter. Tesla registrations in China fell 75.8% to 5,000 units, down from a record 20,700 during the final week of June.
Of these, 3,500 were Model Y vehicles.
Xiaomi sold 4,900 EVs, a 46.2% decrease from the 9,100 units recorded a week earlier, which included the first batch of its YU7 SUV.
Among Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) makers, both Huawei-backed Aito and Stellantis-affiliated Leapmotor each registered 9,400 units, while Li Auto reported 7,500.
BYD remained the market leader, with 55,600 registrations across hybrid and fully electric vehicles last week — a 29.3% drop from the previous week.
The company is falling behind its 2025 goal of building 1,800 to 2,000 new battery swap stations in China to expand its infrastructure network.
