The ES6 is Nio's least expensive SUV and contributed 46 percent of the company's sales from January-August 2022.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) is transitioning models based on the NT 1.0 platform to the NT 2.0 platform, and after the new ES8 has already been released, the ES6 may be next in line.
An image allegedly of the refreshed ES6 based on the NT 2.0 platform is circulating on Weibo today. The vehicle is tightly wrapped in camouflage and not much information is visible, though it is clearly a mid to large-size SUV.
"This is the alleged NT 2.0 ES6, how do you think it will differ from the ES7?" Auto blogger @德卤爱开车wrote today while sharing the image.
By normal rhythm, the debut of the car should not be far away, the blogger added.
There is no more information about the new ES6. This is the first time we have seen a spy photo of the model.
On November 10, William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a conference call after Nio announced its third-quarter earnings that the company would launch five models by the first half of 2023 and would have a total of eight available models by June.
Nio was selling six models in China at the time, including three models based on the NT 1.0 platform -- the ES8, ES6 and EC6 -- and three models based on the NT 2.0 platform -- the ES7, ET7 and ET5.
The company is expected to transition all three NT 1.0-based models to the NT 2.0 platform for a better intelligent cockpit and enhanced assisted driving capabilities.
On December 24, Nio launched the EC7 and the new ES8 at the Nio Day 2022 event, with deliveries to begin in May and June 2023, respectively.
The all-new ES8 is the NT 2.0 version of Nio's flagship SUV. The EC7 appears to be the EC6's transition to the NT 2.0 platform, although Nio did not explicitly say so.
The Nio website continues to sell the old ES8 as well as the EC6, but their expected delivery dates are no longer shown.
For Nio, the facelifted ES6 is something to look forward to, as the model is Nio's cheapest SUV and has contributed the most sales for the company in a long time.
From January to August 2022, the ES6 delivered 32,877 units, contributing 46 percent of Nio's total deliveries of 71,556 units for the period, figures monitored by CnEVPost from the company as well as the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) show.
Nio stopped reporting ES6 sales since announcing July deliveries. It began deliveries of its new SUV, the ES7, on August 28.
The cheapest model in Nio's current product array is the ET5 sedan, which delivered 7,594 units in December, accounting for 48 percent of total deliveries of 15,815.
In addition to the new ES6, another Nio model to be released could be a shooting brake version, or a station wagon version of the ET5.
Han Lu, a car blogger with 6.49 million followers on Weibo, said today that he saw the station wagon ET5 being washed in front of him, but he was not allowed to take pictures.
"It really is one of the most beautiful Nio vehicles out there, and could even be considered the most beautiful wagon within RMB 500,000," the blogger wrote.
At the end of November, spy photos of the Nio ET5 shooting brake version were already circulating on social media.
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