Nio’s sub-brand Onvo is facing speculation over an imminent facelift of its debut model, the L60 SUV, after its chief confirmed minor upgrades are on the way.
As of late Monday, Onvo’s website still allows customers in China to configure and place orders for the first-generation L60, with estimated delivery times remaining at between four and six weeks.
Last week, the brand’s head and long time Nio executive Fei Shen had teased that information on the second-generation L60 would soon be disclosed.
Fei Shen revealed on Weibo this Monday the first upgrades customers can expect in the new iteration.
“The modifications are very minor, adding ventilated seats in the second row, more optional configurations, and software upgrades,” Shen wrote in response to a user on Chinese social media.
Although the executive did not address pricing for the updated model, Nio’s sub-brand is expected to mirror the core brand’s earlier facelifts this year, which kept prices unchanged.
The L60, unveiled in May 2024 and delivered since last September, is built on Nio’s 900V platform with a drag coefficient of 0.229 — which Nio described as the lowest for any production SUV.
It is priced from 206,900 yuan ($29,000) for the 60 kWh version with 555 km CLTC range, and from 235,900 yuan ($33,100) for the 85 kWh long-range model with 730 km.
After a strong launch — Deutsche Bank estimated Onvo secured more than 30,000 firm orders by September 2024 — the L60 struggled with cancellations, causing the brand to miss January and March sales targets of 16,000 and 20,000 units.
That led to the replacement of its first chief Alan Ai in April.
Orders have rebounded since the brand pre-launched its three-row SUV L90 in early July.
Executives said L60 bookings in August rose 30% month-on-month to a record high, supported by increased showroom traffic from the launch of the second model.
Speaking at the recent Chengdu Auto Show, Shen said efforts to boost production remain a “systematic project” requiring coordination across multiple factories and suppliers, as the L60 and L90 share parts of the same equipment system.
Onvo has also delayed its third model, the L80 SUV, to 2026. The L80 is the brand’s five-seat version of the L90 model, featuring the same exterior design.
“Onvo needs to concentrate on doing a small number of important things well. Recently, we have made the Onvo L90 the short-term top priority for the entire Onvo brand,” Nio co-founder and president Lihong Qin said.
The L90, launched on July 31, surpassed 10,000 cumulative deliveries in less than a month strongly contributing to Onvo’s new monthly record.
