A Nio executive suggested on Thursday that the company’s upcoming third-generation ES8 could be priced in the 300,000–400,000 yuan ($41,800-$55,700) range for customers adopting its battery-as-a-service (BaaS) programme.
The scheme allows users to lease batteries and swap them for fully charged ones, lowering the vehicle’s entry price.
Resharing a post that asked, “Is it the Li Auto i8 at 339,800 yuan, or the Model Y L at 339,000 yuan?”, Nio’s Head of User Operations, Yang Bo, responded: “It could also be a brand-new ES8 with BaaS after 3x.xx.”
The Shanghai-based EV maker will unveil the revamped ES8 at a pre-launch event later today (Thursday) at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, with an official launch scheduled for the company’s annual event in the second half of September.
The new ES8, which was shipped to about 300 showrooms across China ahead of the pre-launch event, comes standard with a 100-kWh long-range battery pack.
The company shared earlier this Thursday additional images of the model, which becomes the group’s flagship six-seat SUV.
Earlier this week, Nio trimmed the prices of its optional 100-kWh long-range battery pack by 20,000 yuan ($2,780) while cutting the price of long-range variants across its entire portfolio.
The previous ES8 came standard with a standard-range 75-kWh battery pack and started at 498,000 yuan ($69,400).
Competition in the six-seat SUV segment has intensified in recent weeks.
Fei Shen, head of Nio’s family-oriented sub-brand Onvo, said on Wednesday that the arrival of the Tesla Model Y L and Li Auto i8 “brings pressure to the brand but also an opportunity.”
Tesla began taking orders for its new six-seat Model Y on Tuesday, with prices starting at 339,000 yuan ($47,200). Deliveries are scheduled to begin in September, according to its website.
Li Auto, which launched the i8 in late July, started nationwide deliveries of the six-seat SUV earlier on Wednesday.
As reported earlier this week, NBA star and Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown visited a Nio showroom in Hangzhou and was introduced to the new ES8.
