NIO has confirmed that it will hold an online product launch on June 15, which will be the company's first online launch of new products.
NIO's (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866, SGX: NIO) new SUV, the ES7, will finally be officially launched as normal life gradually returns to Shanghai, where it has its global headquarters.
"Dear Media Friends: We invite you to join us virtually on 8 pm (GMT+8) Jun 15th for the 'NIO Product Launch Event'," according to an invitation sent to CnEVPost.
The invitation does not reveal any information about the upcoming new products, but the ES7, 2022 ES6, EC6 and ES8, as well as hardware upgrades planned for existing models, can be expected to be announced.
Notably, this will also be the first time for NIO to announce new models in an online event.
Although normal life has largely resumed in Shanghai, the local government remains on high alert for the risk of a Covid comeback.
In addition, it is unlikely that people from other cities will come to Shanghai, a city still considered risky, for the launch, as they may be required to stay in quarantine for more than 10 days after returning.
Earlier this month, local media outlet Xchuxing cited a poster purportedly from NIO saying that the NIO ES7 will be launched on June 15 at an online event that is expected to last an hour.
At the event, NIO will also unveil the 2022 ES6, EC6 and ES8, the report said, adding that NIO may also announce specifics on cabin hardware upgrade options at that time.
NIO originally planned to unveil the ES7 in April, but the plan was postponed with the Covid outbreak in Shanghai.
Preparations for the launch of the NIO ES7 are now largely complete, and the regulatory green light for the model to go on sale in China was given earlier this month.
Information released by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on June 2 shows that the NIO ES7 includes five range versions with a combined range of 440 km, 485 km, 450 km, 620 km and 575 km, respectively.
The NIO ES7, a large five-seat SUV based on the company's NT 2.0 platform, will be unveiled this month and is expected to begin mass production and deliveries in late August, William Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said during a June 9 earnings call.
Li said the NIO ES7 is more costly and intelligent than the company's existing SUVs -- the ES6, EC6 and ES8 -- and will not compete with them.
NIO's development of the ES7 has been on schedule, but the launch was delayed due to Covid, so it looks like the model will have a short timeline from launch to delivery, Li said.
