Onvo, the first sub-brand of the Chinese EV maker Nio, saw its weekly sales in China drop slightly to 1,580 units between May 12 and 18, insurance registration data published on Tuesday showed.
Despite a 4.8% drop from the second week of May, registrations of the brand’s debut model L60 remained among the strongest recorded since early this year.
Between April 28 and May 18, the family-oriented brand has registered 4,540 vehicles.
The brand was unveiled in China at the Family Day exactly a year ago by Nio Group founder and CEO William Li, alongside Onvo chief Alan Ai, who left the company in early April following weaker-than-expected sales in the first months of the year.
In April, Onvo delivered 4,400 L60 SUVs in China marking a 9% drop from the 4,820 units recorded by the brand.
Onvo deliveries reached nearly 6,000 in January, 4,049 in February and 4,820 in March — well below the target of 16,000 units in January and 20,000 in March communicated late last year.
Nio Group’s total registrations reached 6,600 vehicles last week, up from the 6,060 registered between May 5 and May 11. Figures include 4,200 Nio brand EVs, 1,580 Onvo and 800 Firefly units.
After unveiling its second model — the L90 — at the Shanghai Auto Show, the brand is planning “to fully launch” it and “announce its price in July,” according to Nio’s co-founder and president Lihong Qin.
“Because based on the current timeline of our various R&D and delivery schedules for the L90, it looks like it will be in the second half of August,” the executive stated.
“In the second half of August, we will adjust based on the timing — it could even extend into September. In July, we will launch the L90 and begin full-scale test drives,” he added.
Based on a leaked image shared by the X user ThinkerCar, Onvo’s second model has an energy consumption of 14.7kWh per 100km. The debut model L60, a smaller and more aerodynamic SUV, has an energy comsumption of 12.1kWh per 100km.
The Japanese bank Mizuho has recently raised its price target on Nio to $4.00 from $3.50, while maintaining a Neutral rating.
Onvo has recently eliminated the cost of upgrading from the standard 65kWh battery to the 85kWh long-range version.
Under Nio’s Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) program, the upgrade fee was reduced from 3,000 yuan ($416) to just 1 yuan (about 14 cents).
