- This means the third-generation ES8 will complete its third 10,000-unit delivery in roughly half a month, potentially pushing this month's deliveries to about 20,000 units.
- The third-generation ES8 is crucial for Nio to achieve its financial goal of turning a profit for the first time in the fourth quarter.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) is expected to deliver its 30,000th third-generation ES8 next week as the large electric SUV accelerates delivery pace toward year-end.
Ma Lin, assistant vice president of brand and communications at the electric vehicle (EV) maker, hinted at this development on Weibo today, inviting followers to guess which day next week the 30,000th new ES8 would be delivered.
This implies the third-generation ES8 will achieve its third 10,000-unit delivery in roughly half a month, considering the 20,000th unit was delivered on November 29.
Nio officially launched the third-generation ES8 at Nio Day 2025 on September 20, with deliveries commencing the following day on September 21.
The three-row electric SUV offers six- and seven-seat configurations, with a starting price of RMB 406,800 ($57,610) including the battery pack, making it one of Nio's most expensive models.
Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li pledged at the third-generation ES8 launch event that production capacity for the model this year would reach about 40,000 units.
The delivery bottleneck for the third-generation ES8 lies in production capacity, not demand, as its entire 40,000-unit annual production allocation sold out on the second day of its launch.
Ma's hint today suggests the third-generation ES8 is poised to deliver 20,000 units this month, bringing the total this year to 40,000.
At the 2025 Guangzhou auto show starting November 21, Nio's vice president of product marketing Kang Kai told local automotive media Auto Home that the target was to reach 20,000 ES8 units in December production.
The third-generation ES8 is crucial for Nio achieving its fourth-quarter financial goal of first-time profitability, given its high-margin profile.
During its November 25 earnings call, Nio projected fourth-quarter vehicle gross margin to rise to about 18 percent, up from 14.7 percent in the third quarter, with the ES8's gross margin expected to exceed 20 percent.
Nio Inc delivered 36,275 vehicles in November, including a record 10,689 ES8 units, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
The SUV delivered 2,803 and 6,703 units in September and October, respectively. Notably, September's deliveries may have included some inventory of older ES8 models.
($1 = RMB 7.0610)
