Nio‘s ES9 flagship SUV has gone on sale in Armenia, its first known market outside China, although the Chinese carmaker has not announced plans to sell the model abroad.
N-Motors, Nio’s dealer in Yerevan, lists the ES9 on its website in three versions, from 35.8 million dram ($99,200) to 44.6 million dram ($123,800).
The listing comes as Nio co-founder and President Qin Lihong visited the dealer, while in Yerevan for the UN biodiversity conference COP17, where Nio supplied ES9 and ES8 SUVs to carry the Chinese delegation.
The dealer added the third-generation ES8 at the same time, replacing the older EL8 it listed at launch, priced from 27.4 million dram ($75,900), and now sells eight Nio and Onvo models.
Three versions
All three versions use a 102 kWh battery and offer a choice of two six-seat cabin layouts, which the dealer calls “island” and “channel.”
The Luxury costs 35.8 million dram ($99,200), the Signature 39.8 million dram ($110,300) and the Horizon Special Edition 44.6 million dram ($123,600).
The dealer’s page highlights the 47-speaker LYRA sound system, Nio’s in-house NX9031 driving chip and the Cedar AQUILA system with 31 sensors, including a forward-facing long-range LiDAR, two side LiDARs and a 4D imaging radar.
It lists 12 airbags as standard and 816 liters of storage across the front and rear trunks, including a 216-liter front trunk.
Options vary by version
Option prices differ sharply between versions.
On the Signature, paint colors cost 700,000 dram ($1,900), interior colors 550,000 dram ($1,500) and forged 22- and 23-inch wheels up to 1.28 million dram ($3,500).
On the entry Luxury, the same forged wheels cost up to 2.08 million dram ($5,800), smart-dimming privacy glass 1.8 million dram ($5,000) and the NOMI Mate dashboard companion 320,000 dram ($900). The privacy glass and NOMI Mate are included on the Signature.
The Horizon Special Edition includes all paint and interior choices. Black Gold wheels add 140,000 dram ($400), and a Black Gold package costs 530,000 dram ($1,500) on every version.
A third more than in China
The Armenian prices are about a third higher than in China, where Nio launched the ES9 on May 27 at 498,000 yuan ($74,700) for the Executive Luxury, 558,000 yuan ($83,700) for the Executive Signature and 628,000 yuan ($94,200) for the Horizon Special Edition.
Chinese buyers can also rent the battery, which cuts the price by 108,000 yuan ($16,200). That option is not available in Armenia, which has no Nio swap stations.
The comparison is not like-for-like. Chinese prices include value-added tax, while Armenia exempts imports of electric cars built from 2024 onward from VAT until the end of 2026.
The two top versions carry Nio’s Tianxing fully active suspension, which the entry version does without, according to Nio’s Chinese specifications.
Barely exported so far
The ES9 has hardly left China. China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) data show four ES9 exports in July and five in August, and none recorded in May, June or September. Nio has not said where the nine vehicles went.
The gap between the CPCA’s wholesale and retail figures matches those shipments. In July, it recorded 6,315 ES9s at wholesale and 6,311 at retail, and in August 6,479 and 6,474. In September, both figures were 7,706.
N-Motors added its ES9 pages on September 23, after those shipments. The dealer has not said whether it has cars in stock or when deliveries will begin.
A strong start at home
In China, the ES9 sold 7,706 units at retail in September, its second-best month after June’s 8,595, according to the CPCA. It has sold 32,194 since deliveries began in late May.
Nio handed over the 30,000th ES9 on September 23 in Suzhou, 119 days after deliveries began by the company’s count.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer William Li said on the company’s second-quarter call that about three quarters of ES9 orders came from users of other brands. Management has said the ES8 and ES9 both carry vehicle margins above 20%.
Buyers of the two top versions in China were waiting 8 to 9 weeks for delivery on October 12, the shortest in EV‘s checks since June, while the entry version showed 3 to 4 weeks.
Armenia’s EV market is unusually open. The government exempts imports of electric cars built from 2024 onward from VAT through 2026, according to the State Revenue Committee, and has proposed adding 5,000 vehicles to its 2026 duty-free EV import quota, with 500 reserved for official dealers and distributors.
Nio sells its premium brand in more than a dozen markets across Europe, the Middle East and the Americas, none of which offers the ES9.
