Nio Inc. has built a pre-launch inventory of at least 6,000 ES9 units at its factory and delivery centers ahead of the flagship SUV’s official launch scheduled for Wednesday (May 27) — the local blog ChinaEVHome reported on Monday, citing sources close to the company.
According to the report, the Shanghai-headquartered EV maker has been accumulating finished vehicles since pre-sales opened on April 9 — when the ES9 made its formal debut in Hangzhou, days before the Beijing Auto Show.
The Backlog
Besides the 6,000 units at the factory, delivery centers in major cities are already loaded with ES9 inventory ahead of customer handovers.
The build-up supports a “launch-to-delivery” model in which Nio plans to begin handing over vehicles to customers on the same day the SUV formally goes on sale.
Nio originally scheduled ES9 deliveries to begin on June 1, but moved that timeline forward to May 27, the launch date itself.
The pre-launch inventory level is also consistent with the scale of Nio‘s near-term delivery commitments.
The company guided last Thursday for second-quarter deliveries of between 110,000 and 115,000 EVs across its three brands — Nio, Onvo and Firefly — representing year-over-year growth of approximately 52.7% to 59.6%.
With 29,356 vehicles already delivered in April, Nio needs to deliver between 80,644 and 85,644 EVs across May and June combined to hit its guidance, and the ES9 ramp is a central pillar of that math.
Pre-Order Figures
According to ChinaEVHome, frontline sales staff estimate the conversion rate from pre-orders to firm orders is running above 50%, implying firm orders should exceed 25,000 shortly after the launch event.
While Nio does not reveal specific figures for pre-orders, the outlet reported a few weeks ago that the ES9 had secured more than 50,000 pre-orders.
The reported inventory level fits the tone Nio‘s founder and Chief Executive William Li set on the company’s first-quarter earnings call last week.
According to the CEO, pre-orders had accelerated over the previous ten days, with the ES9 additionally lifting demand for the existing ES8 rather than cannibalizing it.
At a media session last month, Li had revealed that orders from buyers outside the existing Nio community were running at more than 1.5 times the equivalent period after the ES8 launch in 2025.
The ES8 went on to become the top-selling large electric SUV in China for five consecutive months and reached its 110,000th delivery over the weekend.
Deutsche Bank analysts expect average monthly ES9 sales to reach 5,000 units once production capacity ramps up in the second half of 2026.
The bank lifted its 2026 total deliveries forecast for Nio by about 5% to around 420,000 units, citing the ES9 launch as a key catalyst.
Nio is targeting 40–50% delivery growth this year, implying between 456,000 and 489,000 vehicles.
Pre-Launch Incentives
Nio is also running aggressive pre-launch incentives that close once the launch event begins.
Customers paying a 5,000-yuan deposit before launch can apply that amount as 10,000 yuan toward the final purchase price — an effective 5,000-yuan discount available only during the pre-launch window.
The deposit is refundable.
The centerpiece of the package is a zero-interest financing offer for the first two years of a 60-month installment plan, available only to customers who reserve the ES9 before May 27.
The exclusive reservation channel closes once formal orders open on launch day.
Unveiling
The ES9 is the largest model Nio has ever produced and currently China’s largest fully electric SUV.
It is built on Nio‘s NT 3.0 platform with 900-volt architecture, shares the SkyRide intelligent chassis with the ET9 flagship sedan, and runs two of Nio‘s in-house Shenji NX9031 intelligent driving chips paired with three LiDAR sensors and the AQUILA sensing system.
Pre-sale pricing for the Executive Luxury Edition starts at 528,000 yuan ($77,700) with the battery included, or 420,000 yuan ($61,800) under Nio‘s Battery-as-a-Service leasing scheme.
The Executive Signature starts at 588,000 yuan and the range-topping Horizon Special Edition at 658,000 yuan.
Upcoming Launch
The launch is part of a coordinated communications push around the ES9.
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV is airing a segment of its “Top Lab” program on Tuesday evening (May 26) featuring a crash test of the ES9 and an appearance by Li speaking in front of two units of the SUV at the Nio House inside the company’s NeoPark complex in Hefei.
The broadcast aligns with a “very hardcore” single-topic event previewed in a private group chat by Ma Lin, Nio‘s Assistant VP for Branding and Communications.
Separately, photos circulating on Weibo over the weekend showed former NBA star Yao Ming alongside the Nio CEO and an ES9 unit, fueling speculation that the 7-foot-6 former Houston Rockets center could make an appearance at Wednesday’s launch event.
Nio has not confirmed the basketball Hall of Famer’s involvement, however.
The livestreamed launch event is scheduled for Wednesday, May 27, at 7:30 p.m. Beijing time.
