On December 21st, NIO's annual NIO DAY event was held in Guangzhou. At this event, NIO released its ambition to enter the higher end market and penetrate the lower end market.
At the event, NIO officially announced the launch of its intelligent electric executive flagship ET9. The new car starts at 788000 yuan and can be purchased through BaaS battery rental, with a starting price of 660000 yuan. Delivery is scheduled to begin in March 2025.
NIO founder and chairman Li Bin stated that ET9 is the culmination of NIO's decade long technological innovation, representing the latest breakthrough in global intelligent electric vehicle innovation.
At the launch conference, Li Bin explained in detail the innovative breakthroughs of ET9 in nine major fields, including design, space, comfort, sound, intelligent systems, intelligent driving, safety, three electronics, and driving and riding.
It is reported that the first application of this car is NIO's new flagship intelligent system - Cedar, which is based on the world's leading advanced digital architecture, the most powerful intelligent hardware, and the vehicle wide operating system SkyOS · Tianshu.
Li Bin stated that Cedar's intelligent architecture has super strong vehicle computing performance, supports cross domain integration and connectivity across 6 domains, and can bring users a brand new intelligent application experience.
In terms of intelligent driving, the NIO ET9 is equipped with the Cedar AQUILA Aquila Super Sensing System, which can achieve all-weather "clear, far, and full visibility".
In terms of range, the ET9 adopts a full range 900V high-voltage architecture, equipped with a 100 degree battery pack, and a CLTC comprehensive range of 650km.
As an innovative masterpiece of NIO's ten year history, Li Bin has high hopes for this car and stated that "ET9 is NIO's executive flagship for global innovation leaders, and the best car of this era".
In addition to the launch of ET9, the biggest highlight of NIO DAY this time is the release of NIO's third brand, Firefly. Li Bin stated that Firefly focuses on the high-end smart electric car market and has launched products that are more MINI than Smart and smarter than MINI.
Li Bin revealed that Firefly is designed and developed according to the latest Chinese and European double five-star standards, providing a free and agile travel experience, full of ingenuity, and a safe and reliable living space.
It is reported that this car will be sold in China and overseas. Li Bin revealed in a recent face-to-face meeting with NIO media that Firefly will only have one product in the domestic market, but there may be multiple models in the global market.
On the day of the event, Firefly's first product started pre-sales simultaneously, with a pre-sale price of 148800 yuan in the Chinese market, and will be officially launched in April 2025. The reservation fee is 199 yuan, which can be used to offset the purchase price of 2000 yuan.
It is reported that Firefly will share resources with NIO's main brand in terms of software and hardware resources, charging infrastructure, etc. The first car will be exhibited and sold in NIO stores.
With the release of the Firefly brand, all three major brands previously planned by NIO have been integrated. Li Bin stated that NIO's three brand positioning is very clear, with NIO positioned in the high-end market, targeting both business and household users; Ledao Automobile targets mainstream household market users; Firefly Firefly positioning boutique car, serving the needs of families for their second car.
Regarding the delivery performance forecast for 2024, Li Bin previously stated that NIO's annual sales for 2024 are expected to be 220000 vehicles. With the introduction of the Ledao and Firefly brands, NIO's overall goal for 2025 is to double its sales to 440000 vehicles.