Nio Group will host a tech-focused event in “late June,” co-founder and president Lihong Qin said on Thursday at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Lihong and Shen Fei, the long-time Nio executive and recently appointed head of Onvo, spoke with reporters at the auto show, discussing a range of topics including the L90’s launch timeline, brand positioning, and community-building efforts.
Although Onvo unveiled its second model, the L90, at the first day of the Shanghai Auto Show, the official launch is planned to take place in July, where Nio’s family-oriented brand will reveal pricing, the interior design, and full specs.
Test drives are also scheduled to begin the same month, Nio’s co-founder told reporters. However, Lihong Qin noted that deliveries may not commence until the second half of August or even September, depending on the pace of R&D and production readiness.
“For now, we tentatively plan to fully launch the L90 and announce its price in July,” Qin said. “In the second half of August, we will adjust based on the timing — it could even extend into September.”
Asked how Onvo plans to stand out in China’s increasingly saturated large-SUV segment, Shen said the brand would focus on deepening user engagement. “By deeply engaging our 30,000+ users and fostering organic word-of-mouth, we believe Onvo can establish a strong community presence,” he said.
Shen also announced that Onvo’s “Family Week,” which begins on May 15 in Hefei, will become an annual event, similar in spirit to the ‘Nio Day’. “Change happens incrementally,” he said. The Onvo brand was unveiled in China on May 15, 2024, during Family Day.
The tech event in June is part of a broader push to emphasize the brand’s technological capabilities. “Absolutely — more tech branding is coming,” Shen said when asked about efforts to highlight Onvo’s technological attributes.
Qin echoed that sentiment, acknowledging that Onvo’s “tech storytelling has been lacking” and that the company would “step up product and tech communication to enhance brand perception and sales efficiency.”
At its previous tech event in December, Nio unveiled SkyOS, its in-house developed operating system, which now powers the high-end ET9 sedan. The company said back then SkyOS offers “high bandwidth, low latency, robust computing power, heterogeneous hardware integration, cross-domain fusion, flexible evolution, high reliability, and strong information security.”
Nio also said in July last year that it had completed the design of its first automotive-grade chip, the NX9031, built using a 5-nanometre process. The company previously teased the chip at its 2023 tech day, announcing plans to use it in the ET9.
At the same event, Nio launched the second generation of its smartphone, which remains exclusive to China. The “all-new Nio Phone” is priced from 6,499 yuan ($890) for the Performance version, 6,899 yuan ($947) for the Flagship, and 7,499 yuan ($1,029) for the EPedition.
The device runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, with up to 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a 120Hz display custom-made by Samsung, according to the company.
Nio Group’s founder and chief executive, William Li, commented earlier this week on a possible investment in the United States.
“Any large-scale investment in the U.S. needs to consider policy stability,” Li said, according to Chinese financial platform Gelonghui. “I don’t know what constitutes a stable U.S. policy, so it’s difficult to comment on the possibility of cooperation or investment plans in the U.S.”
Li’s remarks come as President Donald Trump ramps up tariffs on Chinese imports. Earlier this month, the White House raised the baseline tariff on Chinese goods to 145%. In response, China announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. products and vowed to “fight to the end.”
The new duties come on top of existing levies, pushing total tariffs on some Chinese goods to as much as 245%, the White House said last week.
Nio Group registered on Monday a new company named ‘Beijing Weileying Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd.’ The company name “Weileying” appears to be a combination of the Chinese characters from Nio (蔚来), its first sub-brand Onvo (乐道), and Firefly (萤火虫), its second brand.
