Nio Inc. disclosed on Monday that it delivered 37,705 vehicles globally across its three brands in May — a 62.3% increase year-over-year and a 28.4% rise from April’s 29,356 units.
The total is the company’s highest monthly figure of 2026, lifted by the third-generation Nio ES8 and the launch of the Onvo L80.
May’s figures remain below the all-time monthly record of 49,123 vehicles set in November 2025, when the company founded and led by William Li was ramping up deliveries of the third-generation ES8.
The main premium Nio brand accounted for 20,013 of the May total, up 50.81% year-over-year and 5.20% from April.
Onvo contributed 12,029 units, a 91.51% annual jump, and Firefly added 5,663, up 53.89%.
Year-to-Date Against a Record Target
The May total brings the company’s deliveries for the first five months of 2026 to 150,526 units, a 68.70% increase from the 89,225 vehicles delivered in the same period last year.
That is equivalent to between 30.8% and 33.0% of the company’s full-year target range of 456,000 to 489,000 vehicles.
The annual target — implied by Nio‘s guidance for 40% to 50% delivery growth on 2025’s 326,028 units — represents the most ambitious volume goal in the group’s history.
The main Nio brand delivered 97,580 vehicles over the five months, up 63.04%, while Onvo reached 30,720, up 20.65%, and Firefly totaled 22,226.
Quarterly Target
Nio guided second-quarter deliveries to between 110,000 and 115,000 vehicles when it reported first-quarter financial results on May 21.
The range implies year-over-year growth of 52.7% to 59.6% against the 72,056 units delivered in the second quarter of 2025.
With 29,356 vehicles delivered in April and 37,705 in May, the company has reached 67,061 units for the quarter.
That leaves between 42,939 and 47,939 deliveries required in June to land inside the guidance range.
Against the May base, June would need a sequential increase of 13.9% to 27.1%.
For context, the company’s previous monthly record stands at 49,123 vehicles delivered in November 2025, while the second quarter of 2025 closed at 72,056 units.
ES8 Still the Anchor
The third-generation Nio ES8 continued to anchor brand volume in May, delivering 11,475 units.
The SUV reached its 110,000th cumulative delivery on May 23, 245 days after launch.
That followed its 100,000th delivery on April 23, meaning the latest 10,000 units were added in 30 days — already a record pace for premium passenger vehicles priced above 400,000 yuan in China.
Despite the milestone cadence, Nio has signaled that order intake has moved higher.
Li disclosed during the first-quarter earnings call on May 21 that ES8 order intake had reached its highest level since launch in the first 20 days of May, with the wait time on the model’s configurator climbing back to a two-to-three-week range from one-to-two weeks in late April.
The founder attributed the reversal to ES9 showroom traffic spilling over to the larger SUV’s stablemate, and said order intake had risen 30% week-over-week after ES9 test drives began on May 11.
“We have actually witnessed an increase in order intake for the ES8 after the pre-launch of the ES9,” Li said on the call.
The model has now led China’s segment for vehicles priced above 400,000 yuan for five consecutive months, regardless of powertrain.
ES9 Launch Caps the Month
The company began test drives of the ES9 on May 11 and held the official launch event on May 27 — with customer deliveries starting the following day, accelerated from the previously guided June 1.
The flagship SUV is priced from 498,000 yuan, or about $73,400, with the battery included.
In the run-up to launch, Nio rolled out a package of pre-launch incentives tied to the 5,000-yuan reservation deposit, headlined by a 60-month installment plan that carried zero interest for the first 24 months and a 3% annualized fee thereafter.
Customers paying the deposit before May 27 could apply that amount as 10,000 yuan toward the final purchase price.
Li voiced confidence during the first-quarter earnings call about the trajectory of ES9 demand, saying order intake had accelerated following the start of test drives on May 11.
Pre-sales had opened on April 9 at a starting price of 528,000 yuan, including the battery pack.
Nio stated then that non-Nio customer orders were running at more than 1.5 times the equivalent pace of last year’s ES8 launch, according to the CEO.
The ES9 is the second model from the Nio brand’s premium 9-series, following the ET9 executive sedan that has materially undershot expectations.
Bank of China International expects the ES9 to stabilize at monthly deliveries of 3,000 to 4,000 units, driving combined ES8 and ES9 sales above 10,000 units per month.
Onvo L80 Powers the Group Record
Onvo‘s surge was the second pillar of the May result, with the brand jumping 124.76% from April to 12,029 units.
The large five-seat L80 officially launched on May 15 and delivered 5,949 units within 15 days, which Onvo called a delivery-speed record for the segment.
Together with the 2026 Onvo L90, which began deliveries on May 9, the L80 carried the brand above 10,000 units for the month.
Onvo‘s five-month total reached 30,720 vehicles, up 20.6% year-over-year.
The brand upgraded its lineup further on May 29, opening pre-sales for an updated L60 at the Shenzhen Auto Show ahead of an official launch set for June 11.
Speaking at a media session after the ES9 launch last week, Nio management said the company is also working on a new station wagon, without disclosing whether it will be a refreshed ET5 Touring or a new model.
Firefly Holds the Compact Lead
The Firefly sub-brand, focused on the premium compact segment, delivered 5,663 vehicles in May, up 53.89% year-over-year and 13.71% from April.
Its deliveries for the first five months reached 22,226 units, and the brand passed its 60,000th delivery during the month.
Firefly‘s share of the premium compact market exceeded 72%, ranking first in the segment for 12 consecutive months, according to the company.
The brand rolled out a new in-car system in mid-May that lifts peak electric-drive power to 120 kW through software optimization.
Battery Swap Network
Nio‘s battery swap network crossed 110 million cumulative swaps in early May, less than three months after passing the 100-million milestone on February 6.
The added 10 million swaps imply an average of approximately 110,000 daily swaps — a sharp acceleration from the roughly 90,900 daily average recorded in mid-2025.
The company operated 3,846 battery swap stations in China as of mid-May, having added 170 since the start of the year against a full-year target of 4,500 to 4,600 stations.
The fifth-generation station has begun pioneer deployment, with the first unit installed in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, in mid-May for debugging and internal testing.
Mass deployment of the new design — built to support different battery sizes across the Nio, Onvo and Firefly brands — remains scheduled for the third quarter, the third timeline revision since Nio first targeted a pilot run before Christmas 2025.
Q1 Results
The May figures arrive against the backdrop of first-quarter financial results released on May 21, when Nio reported a narrowed net loss of 332.1 million yuan — down from 6.75 billion yuan a year earlier.
The company posted an adjusted net profit of 43.5 million yuan, marking the second consecutive non-GAAP profitable quarter for the Shanghai-based EV maker.
Total revenues climbed 112.2% year-over-year to 25.53 billion yuan, with vehicle margin reaching 18.8% — the fourth consecutive quarterly improvement — and overall gross margin lifting to 19.0% from 7.6% a year earlier.
On the sales network side, the group ended the first quarter with three fewer Nio Houses and six fewer Nio Spaces compared with the prior quarter, while adding 10 Onvo stores.
