Deutsche Bank analysts expect monthly sales of the Nio ET9 to be 1,500 units, saying they appreciate the sedan's elegant design and advanced technologies. They expect Firefly's monthly sales to be 1,500 units as well.
Nio (NYSE: NIO) officially launched its executive flagship sedan, the ET9, at Nio Day 2024 on December 21. Now, analysts at Deutsche Bank have provided their sales forecast for the model.
“We appreciate the ET9 sedan's elegant design and advanced technologies, and estimate it will sell approximately 1,500 units per month,” analyst Wang Bin's team said in a research note sent to investors today.
The ET9 is a four-seat sedan with a starting price of RMB 788,000 yuan ($108,000) including the 100-kWh battery pack, Nio's highest priced model to date.
The company was offering a standard version of the ET9, as well as a limited edition with only 999 units available. Including the battery, they start at RMB 788,000 and RMB 818,000 respectively.
Yesterday, Nio said that the 999 units of the ET9's limited edition had been sold out. Deliveries of the sedan will begin in March 2025.
The ET9 will compete with all-electric sedan peers such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS, BMW i7, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model S and Porsche Taycan, Wang's team noted.
The sedan will also compete with its internal combustion engine sedan peers, including the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, and Porsche Panamera, the team said.
Nio management's sales expectations for the ET9 don't seem to be high, considering the high price tag.
The ET9 won't be a strong performer in terms of sales numbers, Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li said in a communication with local media yesterday, adding, “If it sells 1,000 units a month, we'll be quite happy.”
Prior to the availability of the ET9, Nio's highest priced model was the ES8, an SUV (sport utility vehicle) that delivered 8,187 units from January-November this year, contributing 4.29 percent of Nio Inc's deliveries of 190,832 for the same period, data compiled by CnEVPost showed.
Nio's other premium sedan, the ET7, delivered 6,406 vehicles in January-November, contributing 3.36 percent of Nio Inc's deliveries in the same period.
Along with the ET9, Nio also launched the Firefly brand at Nio Day 2024 on December 21 and gave the brand's first model -- with the same name as the brand -- its debut.
The battery electric vehicle model went on pre-sales in China on December 21 at a price of RMB 148,800, making it Nio Inc's cheapest. It will be officially launched in April 2025 in China.
Nio management previously said it expected Firefly to sell in the thousands each month, though Deutsche Bank has a different take.
“We are relatively conservative on Firefly sales outlook due to its unique exterior design, and expect the product to sell 1,500 unit per month, below the company's forecast of monthly several thousand units,” Wang's team wrote.
The Firefly model is a compact car designed to compete with the BMW Mini, as well as the Smart, a joint venture between Geely and Mercedes-Benz.
The design of the model's headlights has recently sparked widespread debate on Chinese social media platforms, with some disapproving while others were able to accept it.
($1 = RMB 7.2982)
Nio says ET9 orders exceeded expectations, 999 limited edition units sold out
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