Nio delayed the rollout of its Banyan 3.3.0 software update by approximately 10 days to early January, citing a longer-than-expected testing cycle, the company’s associate vice president of product management said Friday.
Ted Li announced the delay on his Weibo account, saying the filing time was pushed back after the full software package required more iteration than anticipated.
“The filing time has been adjusted to early January, which is about 10 days later than originally planned,” Li wrote. “The main reason is that the testing and experience iteration cycle after the full version came out took longer than expected. I hope everyone understands.”
Li added that the update to the cockpit and the assisted driving technology “is expected to bring tangible improvements to the user experience.”
As reported by EV, Nio had announced in early November that an upgraded version of its Nio World Model (NWM) assisted driving software would begin rolling out by year-end.
The update follows Nio‘s initial NWM deployment in late May through the Banyan 3.2.0 software update.
Ted Li joined the Shanghai-based EV maker in December 2014 as ‘User Insight and Experience Manager,’ becoming one of the very first Nio employees.
Li had previously worked — for five months — as ‘Strategic Manager’ at Bitauto, another company created by Nio‘s founder William Li.
Multiple Software Platforms
Nio currently operates multiple software platforms across its fleet.
European vehicles — which are based on the NT2.0 platform — run a local version of the Banyan operating system, while newly built Chinese vehicles have transitioned to the newer Cedar system, which debuted earlier this year with the flagship ET9 sedan.
Since the NWM launch, Nio has concentrated on performance optimization while transitioning to its in-house developed Shenji NX9031 chip.
Features Overview
Li said the Banyan 3.3.0 update will deliver upgrades to both the smart cockpit and assisted driving systems.
Smart cockpit improvements include iPhone UWB digital key support across all models, a new map theme for the instrument cluster, optimized HUD layout, steering blind spot imagery on the HUD, parking image hub perspective memory, and volume adjustment hearing protection.
Nio‘s NOMI voice assistant will receive enhanced capabilities, with encyclopedia Q&A supporting “deep thinking” for more detailed responses. Users who upgraded to NOMI Mate 3.0 will unlock 11 new dance moves and 27 colored music expressions.
The Nio World Model will receive upgrades across driving, parking, and active safety scenarios.
Cedar Platform Users
Owners on Nio‘s Cedar and Cedar S platforms — including the third-generation ES8 — will receive the NWM upgrades through Cedar 1.4.0 and Cedar S 1.4.0 updates.
Li said those updates are planned for filing submission at the end of January, with the company aiming to push them before the Chinese New Year holiday.
Model-specific features include AR-HUD blind spot pedestrian warnings and ambient light cinema mode for the ET9, zone-exclusive sound field mode for the new ES8, and wet epoxy floor recognition with speed control for 2025 model year vehicles.
Recent Updates
In October, Nio released the Cedar 1.3.0 update for the ET9 sedan, introducing Intelligent Slip Control and Intelligent Adaptive High-Beam Warning Light features to enhance driving safety.
A month earlier, the company rolled out the Cedar S 1.2.0 update for its refreshed ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5 Touring models.
