Nio, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker, held an event in Beijing where the founder and president, Qin Lihong, shared the company’s performance figures from the Chinese New Year period and answered reporters’ questions.
During the Q&A session, Qin was asked about Nio’s product roadmap and whether the EC7 coupe SUV and ES8 full-size SUV would enter production and deliveries on schedule. In a surprise answer, he confirmed that two more vehicles could enter production before the EC7 and ES8, expanding Nio’s portfolio of EVs and potentially increasing its customer base.
See also: NIO EC7 specifications : battery, range and price
Speculations about the two additional vehicles have been circulating online and it’s believed that Nio is preparing to debut the ET5 shooting brake and update the ES6 smaller SUV. The ET5, also referred to as the wagon or estate, has been spotted several times during testing and looks like a finished product. Meanwhile, the ES6 is being moved from the outdated 1.0 platform to the 2.0 platform used by all of Nio’s latest EVs.
The president also addressed the company’s pricing strategy and latest discounts. Nio stands firmly with its pricing model and has no intention of lowering prices for current models. The discounts were meant to clear older inventory, which included a small number of unsold vehicles. The company confirmed that promotions like this could happen again if there’s leftover inventory.
With the planned delivery of the EC7 and ES8 set for May, the debut of the ET5 and updated ES6 could further boost Nio’s sales and position in the EV market.
