Nio‘s co-founder and President Lihong Qin said the pure-electric shift that has pushed combustion cars out of China’s bestseller rankings will arrive “even more fiercely” in the mid-size SUV segment around 200,000 yuan ($29,500).
Qin spoke immediately after the launch event where Onvo priced its third-generation L60 into exactly that territory.
“We also hope the L60 can be a vanguard of that trend,” Nio‘s co-founder said in a video interview with Weibo auto blogger Diandong Xiongdi filmed after Thursday’s launch event, in remarks translated from Chinese.
Onvo launched the new L60 earlier in the day with prices starting at 192,800 yuan with the battery included — 14,100 yuan below the outgoing model’s entry point, despite the brand having signaled a price increase of nearly 20,000 yuan before the event.
The company’s co-founder estimated that new energy vehicle penetration in China may already be “approaching two-thirds — around 67%” in May, adding that “above 60% is certain” ahead of final retail data.
The estimate aligns with figures released last week by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, which reported 947,000 domestic NEV passenger vehicle sales in May out of 1.444 million total passenger vehicles — an implied share of roughly 66%.
“Pure Electric Is Growing”
Qin framed the shift as an acceleration that began after Chinese New Year, with combustion cars exiting the market as battery-electric models penetrate further.
“I remember in January this year, among China’s ten best-selling vehicles there were still a few combustion models — three or four,” Qin said. “In May’s retail data, combustion cars have completely dropped out of China’s top ten.”
Pure gasoline models disappeared entirely from China’s top ten best-selling passenger vehicles by retail sales in May, with the list fully occupied by new energy vehicles.
Domestic sales of traditional fuel passenger vehicles totaled 497,000 units in May, down 41.8% from a year earlier — a decline of 357,000 units — while cumulative fuel-vehicle sales through May stood at 3.2 million, down 28%.
China’s total domestic passenger vehicle market fell 23.4% year over year in May and 23.8% through the first five months, weighed down by policy adjustments, structural shifts and macroeconomic pressure, according to the association.
Qin acknowledged the contraction, putting the cumulative decline at about 20% for domestic retail excluding exports, but argued the headline figure hides the divergence underneath.
“In a market environment like that, pure electric is growing,” he said. “The technology-driven inflection point in product experience has arrived.”
2025 Forecast
Qin dated the inflection to the Onvo L90’s debut last year, when the company argued the pure-electric era was reaching the large three-row SUV market.
“Today, that has materialized,” he said. “Next, we’re about to see pure electric arrive even faster in the mid-size SUV market around 200,000 yuan.”
The segment is where the new L60 now sits with three trims spanning 192,800 to 222,800 yuan — or 135,800 to 165,800 yuan under Nio‘s Battery as a Service subscription, a structure unveiled on May 29 at the Shenzhen Auto Show and confirmed at Thursday’s launch.
Onvo enters the fight with momentum, having delivered 12,029 vehicles in May — up 124.8% from April and 91.5% from a year earlier.
Under BaaS, the L60’s pricing drops into direct competition with combustion rivals — a point the interviewer raised and Qin answered with household arithmetic.
Charging a pure-electric car overnight at home rates costs about one yuan less per kilometer than fueling a combustion car at current gasoline prices, by the company’s rough math, Qin said.
“A typical family drives 20,000 to 30,000 kilometers a year — that’s 20,000 to 30,000 yuan saved annually,” he said. “Use the car six or seven years and you’ve saved the price of a car.”
The executive noted the calculation moves with fuel prices, which “you’ve all seen” change this year.
Exports tell the other half of China’s story. While the domestic market contracts, NEV shipments abroad reached 446,000 units in May, up 110% year over year, with cumulative 2026 exports at 1.833 million — making overseas demand a core hedge for Chinese carmakers against pressure at home.
Combustion vehicles follow the same route abroad, with fuel-car exports up 42.6% in May to 483,000 units as manufacturers redirect output the domestic market no longer absorbs.
“Seeing Is Believing”
During the L60 launch event, Onvo showed footage of the new L60 driving through Jiannan Road in Guizhou province, a public road running through a natural karst cave, on its assisted-driving system.
Qin said the challenge was organized spontaneously by company staff and that he first saw the footage three days before the launch.
“I learned for the first time that there’s actually a place in the world where a road runs straight through a karst cave and cars can drive it,” he said, recalling that his initial worry — environmental damage — dissolved when told the route is an ordinary public road.
“I remember a few months ago, when I told everyone Onvo‘s assisted driving could reach the industry’s first tier, plenty of people were skeptical. Now, seeing is believing,” Qin said.
The cave’s total darkness, he argued, showcased the sensor hardware on the model’s upper trims: “In that kind of pitch-dark, extremely complex environment, LiDAR’s role becomes comparatively much more prominent.”
Founder and Chief Executive Officer William Li commented on the demonstration on X, writing that the new L60 completed the run “with zero driver takeover” and calling it a first for the industry — part of the product cycle Li mapped out in early May, which closed with Thursday’s launch and same-day deliveries.
The new L60 offers a pure-vision entry trim alongside two variants carrying Nio‘s Shenji NX9031 chip and a roof-mounted LiDAR — the hardware Qin singled out — at a premium of 10,000 yuan and above over the base model.
