Nio‘s upcoming ES9 flagship SUV has been revealed in China’s latest regulatory catalogue, offering the first official look at the company’s largest and most powerful model.
The filing published Thursday by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows the ES9 measuring 5,365 millimeters in length, 2,029 millimeters in width, and 1,870 millimeters in height, with a wheelbase of 3,250 millimeters.
The dimensions make it 85 millimeters longer than the current ES8, which measures 5,280 millimeters.
Nio will be launched in the second quarter of the year.
Powertrain
The ES9 will feature a dual-motor all-wheel drive system producing a combined 520 kilowatts (697 horsepower), with 180 kW at the front axle and 340 kW at the rear.
Top speed is set at 220 kilometers per hour.
The SUV will be equipped with CATL-supplied nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) ternary lithium-ion batteries as Nio increases ties with the world’s largest battery manufacturer.
The filing confirms the ES9 can be sold under Nio‘s battery-as-a-service model, which allows customers to purchase the vehicle without the battery and pay a monthly subscription instead.
Three curb weight variants are listed at 2,845, 2,870, and 2,915 kilograms, suggesting different battery pack or equipment configurations.
Design and Options
The MIIT images reveal the ES9’s production design for the first time, showing a large three-row SUV with styling cues from the ET9 executive sedan.
Available options include two-tone exterior paint, 21-inch, 22-inch, or 23-inch wheels with 275-millimeter wide tires on the largest option, colored brake calipers, electric running boards, and various blacked-out trim pieces for the front and rear bumpers, radar housing, and door moldings.
Pre-Production Confirmed
Nio founder and CEO William Li confirmed earlier this week that the ES9 had entered pre-production, speaking at a media briefing during the company’s one-millionth vehicle ceremony in Hefei.
“The ES9 is already in the pre-production stage,” Li said, adding that the first images would soon appear in an MIIT catalogue — a prediction confirmed by Thursday’s filing.
The ES9 is expected to debut at the Beijing Auto Show in late April before deliveries begin later in the second quarter.
Technology
Li has said the ES9 will serve as the SUV counterpart to the ET9 sedan, which began deliveries in China in late March after being unveiled at Nio Day 2024.
Like the sedan, the ES9 is expected to feature steer-by-wire, Nio‘s Cedar operating system, two Shenji NX9031 intelligent driving chips, and the SkyRide chassis system — representing the highest level of technology Nio has put into a vehicle.
“The ES9 is more geared towards business use,” Li said Tuesday. “Compared to the purely executive ET9, the ES9 will have more diverse applications.”
The ES9 will take over as Nio’s flagship SUV from the ES8, which has held that position since becoming the brand’s first mass-produced vehicle in May 2018.
