Electric vehicle maker Nio has introduced a program for buyers of its newly launched ES8 model to offset potential losses from changes to China’s vehicle purchase tax policy in 2026.
The offer also aims to avoid losing orders from customers facing longer delivery times, as its sub-brand Onvo faced in December 2024.
Automakers in China risk losing orders to rivals that can guarantee year-end deliveries if they fail to hand over vehicles in time for customers to benefit from the current tax policy.
Deliveries started on Sunday across several Chinese cities, less than 24 hours after the launch took place in Hangzhou.
The program, announced on Sunday and named ‘peace-of-mind’, grants each order locked in before December 31, a voucher covering any additional purchase tax incurred if invoicing and delivery slip into 2026 due to Nio’s production or logistics delays.
The subsidy can be applied directly against the vehicle price, with a cap of 15,000 yuan ($2,100).
Nio said the value will be automatically calculated based on the actual purchase price.
Customers whose wait times exceed eight weeks will also receive “peace-of-mind waiting points,” accumulating at 500 points per day from the 57th day after order lock-in until delivery. The points are credited to the owner’s Nio app account after handover.
The move follows strong demand for the third-generation ES8, with prices starting at 406,800 yuan ($56,000), or 298,800 yuan under Nio’s battery-as-a-service rental program.
Orders have already exceeded the model’s 2025 production capacity of 40,000 units, according to a report by Chinese outlet LatePost.
People close to senior management told the publication that lock-in orders received during the launch evening had already surpassed that threshold, adding that “the actual situation exceeds this figure by quite a lot.”
A separate 36-hour sales report published by industry platform CarFansChina estimated ES8 lock-in orders at between 47,000 and 50,000.
At a media Q&A on Sunday, Nio founder and CEO William Li acknowledged that demand was stronger than expected.
Earlier this month, Li had said the phasing out of purchase tax incentives would likely pull demand into the fourth quarter of this year, leaving carmakers exposed to a steep slowdown in the first quarter.
“This isn’t just a challenge for one company — all players will face significant pressure in the first quarter of next year,” Li said, according to a transcript published by local outlet 21jingji.
“With the decline of the vehicle purchase tax incentive, early release of demand will definitely occur toward year-end,” he added.
From an industry perspective, achieving even half of this year’s fourth-quarter sales in the first quarter of 2026 would be “a positive outcome,” Li concluded.
Nio has not officially disclosed the total number of ES8 orders placed since launch.
Earlier this month, Nio management said its fourth-quarter delivery target of 150,000 vehicles would now include its entry-level Firefly brand, broadening a goal that was previously set only for the Nio and Onvo marques.
