Chinese EV maker Nio launched the Champion Edition variants of its ET5 sedan, ET5 Touring station wagon, and EC6 coupe SUV on Monday — refreshing a motorsport-themed trim first introduced in July 2025, exclusively equipped with the long-range 100kWh batteries.
Customer deliveries across China are scheduled to begin on June 20.
Nio timed the launch to mark the eleventh anniversary of its first Formula E Drivers’ Championship title, won on June 28, 2015, when the company — then known as NextEV — captured the inaugural season crown.
From 2025 to 2026
Last year’s Champion Editions — also spanning the ET5, ET5T, and EC6 — started at 316,000 yuan ($46,700) for the two sedans and 370,000 yuan ($54,600) for the coupe SUV, both with the 75-kWh standard-range battery pack.
Under Nio‘s Battery as a Service (BaaS) plan, the 2025 sedans started at 246,000 yuan ($36,300).
Incentives at the time included five years of interest-free financing, 240 free battery swaps valid for five years, five years of NOP+ access, and a free comfort package worth 9,500 yuan for ET5 and ET5T buyers.
One month later, in August 2025, Nio made the 100-kWh long-range battery pack standard across its full lineup while holding base prices at 298,000 yuan for the ET5 and ET5T.
That battery standardization now carries through to the 2026 Champion Editions, which arrive cheaper and better-equipped than their predecessors despite adding more extensive hardware changes.
Both the 2026 ET5 and ET5T Champion Editions start at 313,000 yuan ($46,200) including the 100-kWh pack — 3,000 yuan below last year’s Champion Editions, which shipped with a battery 25% smaller.
Under the BaaS plan, where buyers purchase the vehicle body and rent the battery separately, both sedans now start at 205,000 yuan ($30,300).
At 313,000 yuan, the 2026 sedans carry a 15,000-yuan premium over the base ET5 and ET5T — narrower than the 18,000-yuan gap on the 2025 versions.
Base prices remain unchanged at 298,000 yuan following the 2026 model-year facelift announced in April.
The updated EC6 Champion Edition is priced from 373,000 yuan ($55,800), or 265,000 yuan ($39,100) with the BaaS plan.
By comparison, the standard EC6 starts at 358,000 yuan, or 250,000 yuan under BaaS.
Design and Chassis
All three Champion Editions draw from the livery of Nio‘s championship-winning Formula E race car.
Exterior changes include exclusive racing-green brake calipers, shadow-style body graphics, and a commemorative Easter egg on the windshield.
The EC6 comes standard with 21-inch five-spoke Aero Black wheels and a Moon Package roof.
Interior changes are most extensive on the EC6, which gains a Shadow Black cabin theme, microfiber seats, an Alcantara steering wheel, racing-green seat belts and stitching, embossed headrests, and Champion Edition illuminated door sills with welcome lights.
All three models receive chassis hardware upgrades.
Nio described the ET5 and ET5T changes as delivering tighter steering and more immediate vehicle response.
Specifications disclosed for the EC6 include stiffer suspension springs to reduce body roll, thicker anti-roll bars with 6% higher torsional rigidity, upgraded top mounts designed to reduce suspension deformation for sharper steering feedback, and retuned CDC hydraulic valves for improved damping.
EP Mode
The EP Mode system sits at the center of the Champion Edition driving experience.
Activating EP Mode unlocks four base driving programs — Daily, Mountain Road, Track, and Launch — alongside a dedicated themed cabin ambience.
Red-blue ambient lighting activates across the interior, and two selectable simulated performance sound effects pipe through the audio system.
Nio also built seven curated mountain road routes into the navigation system, designed to pair scenic driving with the handling upgrades.
On the ET5 and ET5T, a fifth program — Drift Mode — shifts power delivery entirely to the rear motor, giving the sedans five EP Mode driving modes in total. Nio says drivers can adjust power output and slip rate across multiple levels.
On the EC6, EP Mode instead activates an electric active rear spoiler adjustment module, deploying the wing at configurable angles.
The EV maker described the EC6’s digital interface as racing-themed — in Park mode, the dashboard display shows the vehicle inside a racetrack pit garage, while in Drive mode a virtual race car responds dynamically to speed and road conditions.
The company said the interface mirrors the display found on third-generation platform vehicles such as the ES8 and ES9.
Nio also introduced an ADAS indicator light retrofit for older models in April and has confirmed it is developing a new station wagon under the main brand — though it remains unclear whether the special edition counts as it.
Purchase Incentives
Nio is offering time-limited incentives for customers who lock in orders on or before June 30.
All Champion Edition buyers can purchase the Moonlight Silver exterior color at 3,000 yuan, reduced from 10,000 yuan, and receive a voucher worth 3,279 yuan toward the exclusive shadow-themed body decal package.
ET5 and ET5T buyers receive a 60-month zero-down-payment financing plan — the first 36 months carry 0% interest, with the remaining 24 months at an annualized rate of 3%.
Additional incentives for the two sedans include a 50% discount on optional equipment, five years of free NOP+ (Navigate on Pilot Plus) access, and a free upgrade to a high-definition digital streaming rearview mirror valued at 3,800 yuan.
EC6 buyers receive the same financing plan, NOP+ access, and rearview mirror upgrade, but not the 50% options discount.
Nio instead offers EC6 buyers a free upgrade to a zero-gravity driver’s seat worth 8,500 yuan.
Customers who choose the 100-kWh battery rental plan can pay for 11 months of rental and receive the twelfth month free in the first year.
Nio specified that the rental promotion applies only to the 100-kWh pack on Champion Edition models; vehicles configured with the 75-kWh battery do not qualify.
Sales Context
Champion Editions arrive as Nio works to revive demand for its entry-level ‘5566’ series — the ET5, ET5T, ES6, and EC6 — which has been overshadowed by the third-generation ES8 since that SUV’s launch in September 2025.
Data from China’s Passenger Car Association shows the four ‘5566’ models combined for 5,243 registrations in May 2026, down from 11,992 in May 2025 — a 56.3% year-over-year decline.
ET5 sedan registrations fell to 700 units from 1,564 a year earlier. EC6 volumes dropped to 570 from 2,026.
Only the ET5T held relatively steady, registering 2,251 units against 2,923 in May 2025.
By contrast, the ES8 delivered 11,472 units in May and accounted for 57.3% of the Nio brand’s 20,013 deliveries during the month.
The newly launched ES9 flagship SUV added 3,108 units in just four days of deliveries after its May 28 commercial launch. Combined, the two large SUVs represented 72.8% of Nio brand volume in May.
Across all three brands — Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — the group delivered 37,705 vehicles in May, a 62.3% year-over-year increase and its best monthly result of 2026. Year-to-date deliveries reached 150,526, up 68.7% from the same period last year.
Management has guided for second-quarter deliveries of 110,000 to 115,000 vehicles and full-year targets implying between 456,000 and 489,000 units.
Nio has relied on a steady cadence of special editions over the past year to sustain interest in its aging entry-level lineup ahead of a more comprehensive third-generation platform refresh scheduled for 2027.
Previous efforts include the ET5T Dark Shadow Edition in October 2025, capped at 555 units, and a limited ‘Far Sky’ Edition for the ET5 and ET5T in December 2025.
