Auto Guangzhou 2025 showcased celebrity partnerships, notably ONVO’s collaboration with Louis Koo, but sales remain a top priority for growth.
The absence of blockbuster launches and star entrepreneurs has softened the product spotlight at Auto Guangzhou 2025.
In their place, automakers have leaned heavily into a wave of celebrity-style showcases on the show floor.
According to incomplete statistics, a lineup of public figures including Guo Jingjing, Zhang Liangying, Julian Cheung, and Wallace Chung appeared at the event.
ONVO partnered with Hong Kong actor Louis Koo, becoming one of the most talked-about topics on the opening day.
Leveraging the wordplay around “Gu Tianle Dao,” ONVO launched a new SKU for the L90 — the Black Warrior Special Edition — featuring an all-black exterior and a fully loaded configuration.
The L90 Black Knight Special Edition is priced at RMB 306,800 ($42,900), or RMB 220,800 ($30,900) with BaaS.
Following the release, media attention shifted to ONVO’s roadmap as 2025 draws to a close.
As a young brand, ONVO has displayed notable resilience this year, rebounding strongly after a difficult start — a performance ONVO President Shen Fei said he is broadly satisfied with.
Yet discussing the future, it was clear he is far from satisfied with current achievements. Shen reiterated once again in public that “sales” remain his top priority.
“The biggest challenge is simply selling more cars”
As noted, Shen is reasonably satisfied with ONVO’s current sales performance. Despite a rough start, momentum recovered: the L60 and L90 have now formed a stable product matrix, contributing roughly 20,000 units per month to NIO Inc.
However, under NIO’s requirement to achieve fourth-quarter profitability — and given ONVO’s positioning as a volume-driven brand — the question of how to further lift sales has become a central point of external scrutiny.
Beyond improving sell-through of existing models, attention has turned to the upcoming L80.
Addressing the L80’s timing, Shen offered two key details: ONVO will postpone launch to Q1-Q2 of next year, though the exact date remains undecided; and the delay is due to L90 orders significantly exceeding expectations, leaving insufficient production capacity to fulfill current demand.
In other words, ensuring timely delivery of the L90 is ONVO’s top priority, and strong order backlog means Shen sees no urgency to activate the L80 to stimulate incremental demand.
When asked directly what the biggest challenge is today, he replied bluntly: “How to sell more cars.”
That phrase has become something of a mantra. Since Shen took over ONVO in an emergency transition in Q1, he has repeated the same message in multiple public settings.
Marketing and product strategy have shifted accordingly — including the collaboration with Louis Koo, a deliberately targeted communications approach.
Responding to questions about celebrity partnerships, Shen said simply: “We offer what users want. Karen Mok performed at NIO Day and received great feedback, and many asked when we’d bring Louis Koo — so we did.”
Beyond emotional resonance, ONVO has also deployed tactical responses to market shifts.
On the topic of the purchase-tax subsidy phase-out, Shen said ONVO would provide a full 100% subsidy if customers cannot receive delivery this year.
However, regarding how long ONVO would maintain subsidy support, he said it depends on “how much backlog can be carried into next year.” Policy changes in December remain under evaluation.
Returning to the question of “how to sell more cars,” ONVO product head Yu Bin said the team is focused on continuously improving product experience for current models, which he believes still hold significant potential.
For the L60, an end-to-end autonomous driving feature will be pushed via OTA before year-end, and ONVO continues to explore energy-efficiency optimization. Shen and Yu are confident the models remain highly competitive.
They expressed strong confidence heading into an intensified 2025 market landscape.
Not worried about the future — staying focused on execution
Triggered by the purchase-tax phase-out, a growing viewpoint within the industry argues that OEMs will aggressively pull forward orders, leading to a “cliff-like decline” in deliveries in Q1 next year.
Shen did not directly address this scenario, but emphasized that ONVO “will not overreact.”
“The market space for ONVO — and the effort we’re willing to put in — is more than enough to overcome external volatility. A mature brand should have that confidence and capability.”
He noted two key advantages ONVO currently holds: a firm initial product definition focused on family users, allowing the L60 and L90 to build combined strength in space, comfort, and efficiency; and NIO’s decade-long investment in EV technology — particularly the charge-and-swap energy network — which he considers a major structural advantage.
Shen also acknowledged existing weaknesses — visibility, brand recognition, and penetration into lower-tier markets. “Breaking out of the circle requires persistence, and internal capabilities must keep improving.”
Discussing product direction inevitably touched on the industry-hot topic of “extended-range hybrids.”
Li Bin had addressed a similar question earlier in the day. Shen’s view aligns closely: “battery swapping” is a core reason he believes pure EVs have a fundamentally stronger outlook than extended-range alternatives.
Yu Bin added that the wave of “super-range-extended” launches appearing in 2025 were likely conceptualized in 2022.
“At that time, lithium prices were extremely high and charging infrastructure was limited — so developing extended-range models was logical.”
“But today is very different,” he said. “With highly developed charging and swapping networks, why continue pursuing extended-range powertrains?”
Both executives agreed that “pure EV is the endgame.”
Looking ahead, ONVO’s direction is increasingly clear.
In the past two months, pure electric models have surpassed plug-in hybrids and extended-range vehicles in large three-row SUV sales — indirectly reinforcing Shen and Li’s outlook.
Yet, Shen acknowledged the brand’s overall scale remains small, and NIO’s mission to achieve fourth-quarter profitability still hangs overhead like the “Sword of Damocles.”
Ending this year at current performance represents only a “moderate result.” A tougher battle awaits next year.
Is Shen ready?
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