Nio’s family-oriented sub-brand Onvo has pushed back against reports circulating on Chinese social media that its recently launched L90 sport utility vehicle has secured nearly 60,000 locked-in orders.
The rumor originated from a post on Sunday by the Weibo user ‘经观汽车’, who has more than 118,000 followers.
The post cited comments attributed to a sales employee at an Onvo store in Zhengzhou, who allegedly said: “It’s inconvenient to disclose the store’s situation, but I checked this morning and found that the total number of locked-in orders nationwide has already reached 58,599 units.”
Shen Fei, head of Onvo, responded to the reports on his personal Weibo account, stressing that the company would not publish such interim figures.
“I have said before that we will not easily publish various types of reservation deposits, large deposits, or other kinds of data that are not final results,” he wrote.
Earlier this month, Nio‘s official Jinan Huashan regional account said that it had prepared more than 20,000 units of the new Onvo L90 SUV for immediate ordering at launch, marking the first time the company has disclosed an approximate figure for initial availability.
The information was shared on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform, where Nio also noted that “the overwhelming enthusiasm has exceeded our expectations, causing multiple backend system crashes.”
Shen also cautioned consumers not to rely on third-party claims. “Everyone should also not believe so-called ‘reports’ or ‘rumors’ from third parties,” he said, adding that internal staff does not have access to nationwide order numbers.
“We also do not allow any user advisors or stores to disclose their own data, and they do not have the authority to view nationwide figures,” he stated.
In a separate post, Shen compared earlier this Monday the practice of releasing preliminary order data to the disclosure of individual exam scores, which he argued carried little real meaning.
“Process data made public has almost no meaning apart from attracting attention, and if not handled well, it can even deceive ourselves,” he wrote.
“Entrepreneurship and life are both marathons — what matters is the final result. During the process, you must persist in comparing yourself with yourself, making progress day by day.”
Several local automotive bloggers last week said the L90 SUV was facing battery-related supply shortages but neither Onvo nor Shen Fei commented on the reports.
The L90, a six and seven-seat SUV launched on July 31 with deliveries starting August 1, has seen lead times extend from 4–5 weeks at launch to 8–10 weeks.
Onvo has recently attributed the extended waiting times for the vehicle deliveries to a “rapid surge in order volume” despite what it described as “relatively sufficient production preparations in advance.”
Last week, Shen Fei said production and deliveries were “still in full swing” and the company was “continuously improving the overall battery swap experience.”
“We are going all out to accelerate the production and delivery of the Onvo L90,” Shen wrote.
Weekly insurance registration data for August 4–10 showed Onvo’s total registrations in China fell 13.5% from the prior week, while L90 registrations rose 5.6% to 2,090 units, well below the more than 20,000 units the brand says are ready for handover.
