Nio has shortened the estimated delivery waiting time for its flagship ES8 sport utility vehicle to 15-16 weeks, the fourth such reduction since the redesigned model launched in late September.
The updated timeline, displayed on Nio‘s Chinese configurator on Monday, represents a decrease from the 17-18 week range shown until Sunday — just five days after the previous cut.
Based on the new estimate, customers placing orders now can expect delivery in late April.
Accelerating Reductions
The pace of delivery time cuts has quickened in recent weeks.
When orders opened a day after the model’s debut at Nio‘s annual event in late September, new buyers faced a 24-26 week wait — equivalent to up to half a year.
In early December, the company shortened the wait from 22-23 weeks to 20-21 weeks.
Last week, as reported by EV, the timeline dropped again to 17-18 weeks before Tuesday’s further reduction.
Based on the current monthly production rate of approximately 27,000 units, the Shanghai-headquartered EV maker has a backlog of roughly 92,000 vehicles.
ES9 Factor
The latest reduction comes days after China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published the first official images of the ES9, a larger and more advanced SUV than the ES8.
The ES9 will measure nearly 5.4 meters — about 85mm longer than the ES8 — and is expected to incorporate top technology features from the ET9 sedan, including steer-by-wire technology from ZF Friedrichshafen AG and the fully active suspension system from Nio Capital-backed ClearMotion.
Some ES8 customers seeking a larger SUV with more advanced technology may cancel their orders and wait for the ES9, which is expected to debut at the Beijing Auto Show in late April before deliveries begin in the second quarter.
CEO William Li confirmed last week that the ES9 has entered pre-production.
Competitive Landscape
The six-seat premium SUV segment is intensifying, with several rivals launching competing models.
Geely-backed Zeekr is developing the 8X, a 5.1-meter SUV.
XPeng is planning a luxury six-seat SUV — the G01 — for launch later this year, according to local media outlet 36Kr.
The report said XPeng‘s four new models for 2026 include the G01, a 5.1-meter luxury six-seater with a 3-meter wheelbase, and the G02, a full-size flagship SUV competing with Li Auto’s L9 and Huawei-backed Aito M9.
Production Ramp-Up
Nio‘s third factory produced 43,668 units of the third-generation ES8 in 2025, exceeding management’s September target of 40,000 units by nearly 3,700 vehicles, according to images shared on Chinese social media on December 31.
The company delivered 10,000 ES8 vehicles in the final 11 days of December alone, translating to a monthly run rate of approximately 27,000 units — more than tripling the pace from earlier in the ramp-up.
December deliveries exceeded 20,000 units, meeting the company’s target.
November deliveries reached 10,677 units, a 59.3% sequential increase from October’s 6,703 vehicles.
The ES8 is produced at Nio‘s third plant in Hefei, Anhui province, alongside the company’s two other manufacturing facilities.
The ES8 six-seat Executive Signature Edition is priced at 446,800 yuan ($64,100), while the Executive Luxury Edition starts at 406,800 yuan ($58,300). A seven-seat Executive Luxury Edition is also available at the same starting price.
