Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
Nio’s mass-market sub-brand Onvo registered 900 vehicles in China between February 10 and 16, up from 370 the previous week, data from Chinese carmaker Li Auto showed on Tuesday.
The premium Nio brand recorded 1,900 insurance registrations in the same period, bringing the group’s total to 2,800 vehicles — up from 1,500 between February 3 and 9.
Among new energy vehicle (NEV) startups, Nio and Onvo together ranked 10th in weekly insurance registrations, slightly behind BYD’s premium brand Denza.
Within the Nio brand, and according to industry data shared on Weibo, the best selling model was the five seat SUV ES6 (known as EL6 in Europe) with 690 units, followed by the ET5 Touring with 500 units and the coupe SUV EC6 with 300.
XPeng led among startups with 8,100 registrations, a 138% increase from the prior week, followed by Li Auto with 7,500 units (up 60%) and Xiaomi’s SU7 sedan at 6,900 units (+57%). Zeekr, a direct competitor to Nio in the premium EV segment, registered 3,600 vehicles.
Registration volumes had remained low across automakers in late January and early February due to the Chinese New Year holiday, which ran from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
Onvo’s competition in the family-oriented segment included Tesla, which registered 1,340 units of the outgoing Model Y. Tesla has since halted sales of the older version and began rolling out first customer deliveries of the refreshed Model Y on Tuesday, with global deliveries set for March.
Monthly Deliveries
Onvo delivered 5,912 vehicles in January, well below its production capacity target of 16,000 units for the month. The company met its December target of 10,000 units and now aims to reach 20,000 in March.
While neither Tesla nor Onvo disclose their order backlog, Nio’s sub-brand is expected to face strong competition from Tesla’s refreshed Model Y. Domestic rivals include SUVs from Zeekr, Exeed, and Avatr.
Onvo’s ‘Widespread Positive Feedback’
Nio’s legal department announced on Monday that it has filed a lawsuit and initiated legal proceedings to identify the owner of a Weibo account accused of “spreading seriously false information” about the Onvo brand while presenting it as a “major scoop.”
In the statement, Nio said that “since its launch, Onvo has received widespread positive feedback from both the market and users.”
Onvo is preparing to launch two new models this year including a five-seat SUV and a six-seven seat SUV.
February Incentives
Onvo announced earlier this month limited-time incentives for its L60 SUV as it fights increased competition in China from both Tesla but also domestic brands, such as Zeekr’s latest SUV – the 7X.
Customers who place a deposit by February 28 will be eligible for a 0% down payment and a three-year interest-free financing plan valued at 14,840 yuan ($2,040), the company said last Friday.