NIO ES9 Reportedly Sees 20,000+ Firm Orders Within 72 Hours of Launch

On June 1, auto media outlet “Car Fans” released frontline sales data covering the first 72 hours following the launch of the NIO ES9.

Based on dealership-level figures, each of NIO’s 557 stores across China recorded an average of 40–45 new firm orders during the period.

Aggregated across the network, total ES9 orders are estimated to have surpassed 20,000 units within three days.

Store traffic also saw a significant uplift, with walk-in customers accounting for around 60% of visits and overall footfall roughly doubling compared with pre-launch levels.

Dealers reported that the official pricing came in slightly below some consumer expectations. Combined with the simultaneous arrival of display and test-drive vehicles, this significantly accelerated conversion from intent to order.

Regionally, orders are concentrated in Tier-1 and provincial capital cities including Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Chengdu, particularly in markets with high NEV penetration rates.

In terms of customer profile, ES9 buyers are primarily aged between 35 and 50, with male customers accounting for roughly 85%.

Many already own multiple luxury vehicles and tend to prioritize chassis dynamics, cabin refinement, and intelligent features over entry pricing.

Notably, around 35% of orders come from existing NIO owners upgrading or replacing vehicles, indicating a meaningful contribution from internal customer conversion as well as new users.

Configuration mix is heavily skewed toward higher trims. The Executive Signature Edition accounts for about 75% of orders, while the Horizon Special Edition contributes roughly 20%.

Buyers frequently cite the Tianxing full-active suspension system and premium cabin experience as key purchase drivers.

Color preferences show strong clustering, with “Midnight Black” exterior and tortoiseshell brown Nappa leather interior emerging as the most popular combination.

A particularly notable metric is financing structure: more than 95% of ES9 buyers opted for the Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) leasing model.

This mirrors the earlier L80 launch, where BaaS penetration also exceeded 90%.

For a large SUV priced near RMB 500,000 ($73,750), the BaaS model is increasingly being adopted as a way to reduce upfront acquisition cost.

In terms of competitive positioning, around 50% of buyers considered the ES9 alongside the Aito M9, 30% compared it with the Zeekr 9X, and the remaining 20% came from the Li Auto L9 and other large SUV segments.

The ES9 officially launched on May 27, with a starting purchase price of RMB 498,000 ($73,300), reduced to RMB 390,000 ($57,500) under the BaaS scheme.

On ES9’s launch day, NIO Inc’s U.S.-listed shares rose 9.32%, reflecting positive market sentiment toward the model rollout.

Meanwhile, NIO Inc’s latest delivery update showed 37,705 vehicles delivered in May 2026, up 62.3% year-on-year and 28.4% month-on-month.

Deliveries under the NIO brand reached 20,013 units, up 50.8% year-on-year.

For the first five months of 2026, cumulative deliveries reached 150,526 units, representing year-to-date growth of 68.7%.