Onvo, a sub-brand of Nio, said more than 90% of initial buyers of its newly launched Onvo L80 selected the company’s battery-as-a-service (BaaS) purchasing model, highlighting strong consumer interest in lower upfront EV pricing.
The company released the first customer profile data for the L80 on Monday, showing widespread adoption of the battery rental programme, which allows buyers to purchase the vehicle without owning the battery pack.
The Onvo L80 is offered in three variants — Pro, Max+ and Ultra+ — with starting prices including the battery pack of 242,800 yuan ($35,810), 259,800 yuan and 279,800 yuan, respectively.
Under the BaaS model, prices fall to 156,800 yuan for the Pro version, 173,800 yuan for the Max+ and 193,800 yuan for the Ultra+.
The current BaaS programme for the L80 is available only with an 85-kWh battery pack carrying a monthly rental fee of 899 yuan.
According to the company, 62% of customers selected the mid-range Max+ version, which includes LiDAR and Nio’s internally developed Shenji NX9031 smart driving chip for advanced driver assistance features.
The flagship Ultra+ version also uses the Shenji NX9031 chip and adds four-wheel drive capability, enabling acceleration from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in 4.5 seconds.
The entry-level Pro model continues to use Nvidia’s Orin smart driving chip.
Onvo also disclosed that 58% of customers chose black exterior paint, while more than 70% selected a brown interior configuration.
The Onvo L80, a large five-seat SUV positioned for family-oriented buyers in the mass market, officially launched on May 15 as part of Nio’s efforts to expand the Onvo brand lineup.
The BaaS purchasing model has become a key component of Nio’s business strategy by lowering purchase costs for consumers while generating recurring monthly battery rental revenue for the company.