The mass-market sub-brand of Nio, Onvo (known as Ledao in China), has launched its official website, offering a glimpse into its upcoming offerings. The website, onvo.cn, currently features minimal content, with a message in the center stating, “First model L60, stay tuned.” Apart from this, the site displays Onvo’s name in both English and Chinese, a logo, and a website filing number, providing limited information about the brand’s upcoming plans.
This move comes after a previously leaked page hinted at more detailed content, which has since been reduced on the live site. Nio had briefly displayed similar information on its alpssev.nio.com page on April 29, along with additional screenshots and details about the Onvo App, but the page was taken offline shortly afterward and remains without content.
Auto blogger reports suggest that Onvo’s management team will be unveiled on May 9, with details about the brand’s head, the significance of the brand and logo, and information about the Onvo App expected to be announced. Nio had confirmed the Onvo name during a media Q&A session after its long-life battery strategy launch event on March 14, indicating that the brand’s official launch is scheduled for early to mid-May.
Ai Tiecheng, a senior vice president at Nio, is reportedly heading the Onvo brand, according to his Weibo profile. Nio’s internal codename for Onvo is Alps, with the company also working on a new brand codenamed Firefly.
Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li had previously mentioned during a March 5 earnings call that Alps’ first model will directly compete with Tesla’s Model Y. He also noted that the new model would have a bill of materials (BOM) cost about 10 percent cheaper than Tesla’s offering.
The Onvo L60 is expected to target a price range of RMB 200,000 ($27,750) to RMB 300,000 and could see a starting price drop to around RMB 150,000 under Nio’s battery as a service (BaaS) plan. BaaS, launched by Nio in August 2020, allows customers to lower the purchase threshold by at least RMB 70,000 by renting the vehicle’s battery pack and paying a monthly fee.
