Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Nio’s sub-brand Onvo on Saturday announced a new round of incentives for its debut model, the L60 — a direct competitor to Tesla’s Model Y — marking the first campaign under the brand’s new president, Shei Fen.
Alan Ai, the previous chief of the mass-market brand said he was stepping down last week, about a week after the Nio Group founder and CEO William Li admitted Onvo missed key sales targets in the first months of this year.
Customers who place a deposit for the Onvo L60 by the end of April will receive a 6,000-yuan ($825) “worry-free” charging package, which can be used toward public charging, home charging installation and battery upgrades. Based on an estimated four battery swaps per month, the package amounts to about two years of free charging.
Buyers will also receive five years of complimentary access to Onvo Intelligent Driving, the company’s assisted driving service valued at 19,200 yuan ($2,640). Existing owners who have already taken delivery of the vehicle will be granted an additional two years of the service at no extra cost.
The incentives stack with Onvo’s existing five-year, interest-free financing scheme, which allows buyers to secure the L60 with a 45,000-yuan ($6,190) down payment and monthly installments of 2,350 yuan ($320). The plan carries no processing fees.
Shen Fei shared the promotion on Chinese social media.
“In the bright and beautiful April sunshine, take the Nio Onvo L60 for a spin! A 6,000-yuan charging gift pack — maybe not quite enough to circle the Earth a few times…,”Shen Fei wrote. “So drive more this spring, enjoy the lovely scenery, and let more people see the L60.”
The company missed delivery targets of 16,000 units in January and 20,000 units in March after succeeding in both November and December goals.
Earlier in the week, the new brand chief and former Nio Power head stated that the company he “generally agrees” that the company “should not overemphasize battery swapping” and highlight other unique selling points.
“Although I have done battery swapping before, I generally agree that we should not overemphasize battery swapping… For example, for the L60, we should first emphasize that this is a very well-rounded car that leads in all aspect”, the executive wrote. “Especially: healthy and comfortable large space, smart cockpit digital-intelligent experience, energy-saving and long range, including five-star safety.”
“After saying all this, there may still be some competing models that make users feel a little hesitant, so let’s then throw out three unique competitive advantages of Nio that others cannot imitate,” Fei Shen stated before naming them.
“These include the most convenient energy replenishment including battery swapping, lifetime battery warranty, and the very important partner-style service inherited from Nio,” he added.
