Nio brand’s average selling price hits $65,300 in June as flagship SUV boosts premium pricing power

• The Nio brand’s average transaction price reached 443,000 yuan ($65,300) in June, as deliveries of the ES9, which starts at 498,000 yuan, ramped up.
• Nio announced today that deliveries of the six-seat aisle version of the ES9 have begun. The five-seat ES8 will launch on July 9.

The average transaction price of Nio, the main brand of Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO), reached 443,000 yuan ($65,300) in June, underscoring the Chinese EV (electric vehicle) maker’s pricing power in the premium market.

Ma Lin, Nio’s vice president of branding and communications, confirmed the figure in a Weibo post on Monday. He had earlier invited users to guess the number, saying the three closest guesses would be rewarded.

The average transaction price is well above the overall average of China’s passenger vehicle market. In China, models with starting prices above 300,000 yuan are considered premium vehicles.

It reflects how the delivery ramp-up of the ES9, the flagship SUV (sport utility vehicle) with a starting price of 498,000 yuan, has lifted the Nio brand’s overall price structure.

The ES9 was officially launched on May 27, with deliveries starting on May 28. Nio announced on June 26 that the model had surpassed 10,000 deliveries in just about 30 days, setting the fastest delivery record for premium all-electric models priced above the 500,000-yuan level in the Chinese market.

Deutsche Bank estimated that ES9 deliveries may have reached about 8,000 units in June, a sharp increase from 3,108 units in May. The bank also estimated that the model’s non-cancellable order backlog exceeds 40,000 units.

The main Nio brand delivered 21,908 vehicles in June, up 50.13% year on year. Nio Inc as a whole delivered 40,597 vehicles in June, its highest monthly total so far this year.

Alongside the disclosure of the average transaction price, Nio announced today that deliveries of the six-seat aisle version of the ES9 have begun, with display vehicles arriving at stores. The ES9 units delivered previously featured a second-row center console layout.

The six-seat aisle version adopts independent second-row seats, with a central aisle providing direct access to the third row.

Nio said the version still offers 816 liters of cargo space with all 6 seats occupied, enough to hold 13 suitcases, far exceeding the loading capacity of MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles). This is consistent with the company’s strategy of positioning the ES9 directly against premium MPVs.

In the same Weibo post, Ma also reiterated that the five-seat version of the ES8, another high-priced SUV, will officially launch on July 9, leading premium large five-seat SUVs into the all-electric era.

The five-seat ES8 opened for pre-orders on June 28. It will sit alongside the existing six-seat and seven-seat versions, broadening the customer reach of this key model.

The third-generation ES8, with a starting price of 406,800 yuan, is a high-margin model and a key driver of Nio’s recent financial turnaround.

The updated ES8 has seen strong sales since its launch in September 2025, delivering 11,475 units in May, exceeding the 10,000-unit mark for the seventh consecutive month.

Nio’s overall June deliveries came in slightly below guidance. Deutsche Bank analysts believe that’s partly because consumers were waiting for the launch of the five-seat ES8, resulting in weak ES8 deliveries of about 8,900 units for the month.

Deutsche Bank expects Nio to achieve non-GAAP breakeven in the second quarter, given the strong contribution of the high-margin flagship ES9.

The bank also noted that there is no cannibalization between the ES9 and the ES8 due to the significant price gap. The ES8 is positioned as a family vehicle, competing with Li Auto’s (NASDAQ: LI) Li L8 and the Huawei-backed Aito M8, while the ES9 is positioned as a business executive vehicle, competing with the Aito M9 and the Zeekr 9X.

The third-generation ES8 has reached 120,000 deliveries in 275 days since its launch in late September 2025.

($1 = 6.7866 yuan)