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NIO launched a “counterattack” with ES6 priced as low as 368,000 yuan


Source: China Times

 

It is learned on on May 31 from China Times that the brand-new ES6 under NIO’s second-generation technology platform has a price range of 368,000 to 426,000 yuan, which is nearly 20,000 yuan cheaper than the 2022 model, and has been greatly optimized in terms of intelligent hardware, seats, and electric drive systems.

In addition to the product itself, the biggest change in NIO this time is to get rid of the previously criticized delivery time issue. As of May 23, the new ES6 show car has entered 330 stores in 100 cities across the country, and delivery will start immediately after it goes on the market.

Entering 2023, the competition in the new energy vehicle market has entered a fierce stage. From this year’s sales rankings, it can be seen that BYD (002594) and Tesla are firmly in the top two positions, while the rankings of new car-making forces have begun to change frequently, and the effect of market leaders is gradually revealed. However, NIO, the former leader, was affected by the “vacuum period” of platform switching, and the sales of old models were discontinued. Only ET5 and ES7 of the new platform models were delivered normally, and other models were just refurbished, waiting for delivery, or not released yet. This transitional state has affected the previous sales performance.

Facing the complex internal and external environment, from product capabilities to delivery pace, NIO has obviously “gathered its strength” this time, upgraded products, lowered prices, and greatly increased the pace of delivery. NIO conveyed an attitude to the outside world: The ES6, which was the leader of NIO’s sales in China and has sold a total of 127,000 units, will once again support sales, and NIO is expected to start a “counterattack” in the second half of the year.

In 2020, 2021, and 2022, ES6 sold 28,000, 41,000, and 42,000 vehicles respectively, accounting for 63%, 45%, and 34% of NIO’s total sales, stabilizing the bulk of sales. According to previous data, NIO ES6 ranks first in the pure electric SUV market with an average price of more than 350,000.

In terms of product strength, compared with the first-generation ES6, the new ES6 has been comprehensively improved in terms of appearance, interior, hardware, and software. The new car adopts NIO’s latest design language and is equipped with a dual-motor four-wheel drive system as standard. In terms of intelligence, it is equipped with Aquila super-sensing system and ADAM NIO supercomputing platform as standard.

After the full configuration, NIO also lowered the price for the first time when the model was replaced. The starting price dropped from 386,000 yuan for the first-generation ES6 to 368,000 yuan, which is 18,000 yuan lower than the previous generation, more attractive than competing products – BMW X3 (suggested retail price starting at 399,000 yuan), Mercedes-Benz GLC300 (suggested retail price starting at 479,300 yuan).

The sincerity of the configuration and selling price immediately gained feedback from the market. Statistics show that the current intention orders for the new ES6 have exceeded 20,000. From the perspective of orders, the orders for the new ES6 are currently concentrated in first- and second-tier cities and core stores, with average 90 intent orders per store, of which 20 are locked orders. The sales of NIO’s Beijing Longhu Changying Tianjie store also revealed that the new ES6 has received a lot of attention, and some consumers directly locked in the order without a test drive.

From the performance of competing products before and after the launch of ES6, we can also get a glimpse of the “lethal power” of the new ES6. After the press conference, a Li Auto internal training material circulated on the Internet. According to the data, in the training exam questions of “Competitive Product Comparison Training Ideal L7 vs NIO ES6”, the content involves the comfortable configuration, intelligent driving, battery range and other aspects of related NIO models. Li Xiang’s speech on Weibo and the news that Li Auto Sales blocked NIO’s ES6 orders spread on social media, on the one hand, reflected the launch of the new ES6, which disturbed the pattern of the mid-to-high-end SUV market and moved other people’s cheese; On the other hand, it also confirms the product power of the new ES6 from the side.