- Some used car sellers incorrectly labeled vehicles purchased through the BaaS model as the original full price, a Nio spokesperson said.
- Additionally, offers, including trade-in subsidies, were counted, leading to lower list prices.
Nio's (NYSE: NIO) sub-brand Onvo has been a topic of discussion again recently.
Some Weibo bloggers recently shared information showing that several online platforms in China are listing unusually low prices for short-mileage Onvo L60s, raising doubts about what's going on.
CnEVPost received a few queries from readers and we reached out to Nio's PR team and got some responses.
"Recent discussions about the L60's pricing on secondhand platforms require clarification. Some used-car sellers have inaccurately labeled vehicles purchased via the BaaS model (¥149,900) with the original "full vehicle price" (¥206,900)," the spokesperson told CnEVPost.
"This labeling practice risks misleading consumers unfamiliar with BaaS, creating a perceived 'significant price gap' that does not reflect genuine discounts," the spokesperson added.
Onvo officially launches the L60, an electric SUV (sport utility vehicle) that is a competitor to Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y, on September 19, 2024, with deliveries beginning on September 28.
Including the battery pack, the Onvo L60 starts at RMB 206,900 ($28,350).
Notably, Nio's unique BaaS (battery as a service) model allows customers to purchase its models by buying only the body and renting the battery.
For the Onvo L60, when purchased under the BaaS plan, the starting price is lowered to RMB 149,900, and the monthly battery rental cost is either RMB 599 or RMB 899 depending on the battery pack.
Additionally, the L60 purchased through official channels enjoys a number of subsidies, including a national trade-in subsidy of RMB 15,000 to RMB 20,000, limited-time pre-order discounts, and display-model reductions, the Nio spokesperson told CnEVPost.
We were provided with an example:
In Hainan, post-subsidy pricing starts at ¥127,900 (after deducting ¥18,000 in government support and ¥4,000 from pre-order benefits), and drops to around ¥120,000 for display models. Current used-car listings (¥126,800–130,000) align closely with—or even exceed—these subsidized new-car prices, dispelling claims of “undercutting” in the secondary market.
"While third-party sellers on these platforms are not affiliated with ONVO, we encourage customers to purchase the cars on our official App to ensure full access to subsidies, warranties, and customer protections," the spokesperson said.
Earlier today, local media outlet Shandong Business Daily reported the low prices of quasi new Onvo L60 cars on online platforms and contacted some sellers.
One seller said customers would need to place their own orders themselves and get deliveries at Onvo's delivery centers.
For the lower prices, the seller said they are after accounting for the RMB 15,000 trade-in subsidy or RMB 20,000 old car scrapping subsidy.
This means that the seller acted as an intermediary to offer customers discounts on the purchase of the cars, the report noted.
It's worth noting that similar situations have been reported before, including Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI), Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), and IM Motors, although they haven't garnered widespread concern.
In many of these cases, one possible explanation is that some sellers were trying to attract traffic to their stores by offering unusually low prices, although the low prices were not actually available.
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