Nio (NYSE: NIO) has ramped up its car-buying incentives in China, as the auto market enters its traditional slow season at the start of the year.
The company today announced on its mobile app that customers who pay a deposit on a Nio-branded vehicle between February 1-28 will be able to take advantage of a financing program with as little as 20 percent down payment and five years of zero percent interest.
The financing program can help buyers save about RMB 30,000 yuan ($4,140) in interest, Nio said in a poster.
Nio has joined Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) in starting to offer the financing program, which is a step up from the one announced last month.
In January, Nio Inc offered a three-year zero percent interest financing program for customers buying Nio-branded or sub-branded Onvo models.
Tesla was one of the first carmakers to start offering a five-year zero-interest financing program in China, an incentive seen as playing a major role in boosting sales.
The US EV maker initially announced the five-year zero-interest financing incentive in China on April 3, 2024, the first time it offered the program in the world's largest EV market.
For nearly a year, Tesla has been announcing a one-month extension of what it calls “limited- time” plan basically every month, and on December 24, it announced that it was extending it to January 31.
Tesla has yet to announce another extension of the financing program in China, and a page on its Chinese website continues to display it.
Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) announced last November 29 that it had begun offering a three-year zero-interest financing incentive for its entire lineup.
Back at Nio, the brand continues to offer new customers five years of free access to NOP+ (Navigate on Pilot Plus), the same as it did previously.
It is offering a RMB 10,000 option fund in February, which was halved from the previous RMB 20,000 amount.
Nio is offering new customers 20,000 kilometers of free battery swaps, or 48 service coupons, in February, up from 20 free battery swaps previously.
The company and its major local peers are expected to announce January delivery figures later today.
($1 = RMB 7.2514)
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