Shanghai-based EV maker Nio filed for a new special edition of its flagship model ET9 — the ET9 Horizon Edition.
The information was revealed in the latest catalogue by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released on Wednesday.
The ET9 Horizon Edition continues to feature ET9’s “flying aircraft body” while adopting a two-tone body scheme and a brand-new wheel design.
“All-new aerodynamic wheel design, with a surface inspired by sculpted metalwork, meticulously crafted for an elegant and dynamic presence,” Nio said in a social media post.
The executive sedan was launched at Nio’s annual event last December — which will be held earlier than usual this year, with the new ES8 launch.
“More details coming soon — stay tuned,” the brand stated on Wednesday.
Its First Edition, which was priced at 818,000 yuan (about $114,000), sold out its 999 units within 12 hours.
The version is planned to be launched later this year, according to Nio’s VP of Product Management Ted Li.
“After ET9 deliveries began, we had in-depth conversations with many of our owners. A number of them expressed the desire to personalize their ET9, and some have already made thoughtful modifications to their vehicles — with impressive results,” Ted Li wrote on Weibo.
“To better meet the growing demand for personalized design, we will be launching the ET9 Horizon Edition, a special version of the model, later this year,” he added.
The ET9 is available through Nio‘s battery-as-a-service (BaaS) programme, which lowers the starting price to 660,000 yuan ($92,000) for customers leasing the battery separately.
With the battery included, the four-seat sedan is priced at 788,000 yuan ($109,800) — more than twice the starting price of the ES6 SUV, Nio’s best-selling model, which begins at 338,000 yuan ($47,100).
The sedan features what Nio calls its most advanced suite of technologies to date, including its Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip — which was also included in the recent ET5 and ET5 Touring models.
Earlier this month, Nio also unveiled the Champion Edition for several models in its lineup. The variants are aimed at celebrating the company’s championship title in the 2015 Formula E.
The ET5 and ET5T Champion Editions are priced from 316,000 yuan ($44,000) if including the battery, or 246,000 yuan ($34,300) if choosing to lease it — both 18,000 yuan ($2,500) above their standard versions.
The EC6 coupe SUV also got a Champion Edition, with prices starting at 370,000 yuan ($51,600) with the battery and 300,000 yuan ($41,800) if choosing Nio‘s BaaS.
The three models, plus the ES6 SUV, were last upgraded in May. Its main difference from the previous iteration is the chip, as the EV maker replaced Nvidia’s Orin for its Shenji chip.
Earlier on Wednesday, Nvidia’s founder and CEO praised several Chinese automakers, saying that Nio vehicles are “very luxurious.”
Since ET9 deliveries started in late March, 1,888 units were delivered in China.
Deliveries have been declining sequentially, with June registrations falling to 307 units, half of the vehicles the brand had handed over in May.
In the first two weeks of July, the ET5/ET5T models were the best-selling among Nio’s lineup in its domestic market.
On Tuesday, a MIIT catalogue included the upcoming Nio ES8 and revealed some of the vehicles’ specs, which included improved range — about 30 km above the current version of the flagship seven-seat SUV.
The ES8 will be officially unveiled at Nio Day 2025, the EV maker’s annual event, which was anticipated for late September to coincide with the model’s scheduled reveal.
