Nio Onvo’s second model is expected to launch at the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to the report

According to a local media report, the new mid- to large-sized SUV will be a key weapon in Onvo’s efforts to increase deliveries next year.

Nio’s (NYSE: NIO) sub-brand Onvo will launch two new models next year after its first model, the L60 SUV (sport utility vehicle), debuted last month, according to a new report.

Onvo’s second model will be a six- or seven-seater SUV, which is expected to launch at the end of the first quarter of 2025, local tech media Leiphone said in a report yesterday.

Deliveries of the new SUV model will begin around May, but a possible delay cannot be ruled out, the report says.

It is worth noting that the timeline mentioned in the report contradicts Nio management’s previous statements and should therefore be treated with caution.

The day after the launch of the L60, Nio founder, chairman and CEO William Li told media, including CnEVPost, in Hefei, Anhui province on September 20 that Onvo would launch a new model every year.

Onvo will launch a mid- to large-size SUV in 2025, a model that will be a revolutionary product and bring surprises, with deliveries starting in the third quarter of 2025, Li said at the time.

“If you think the L60 is good, then this new model is a much more competitive product,” Li said.

For Onvo, the focus should not just be on the L60, which is merely a “stepping stone” for the brand’s future more powerful models, Leiphone said in the report yesterday, citing a source familiar with the matter who goes by the pseudonym was Zhao Wen.

Next year’s SUV will be more important than the L60, and according to Onvo’s pricing standards, the six-seat version will cost less than 300,000 yuan ($42,140), Zhao said.

After reducing battery prices using BaaS (Battery as a Service) battery rental service, Onvo’s two SUVs will cover a price range of RMB 140,000 to 220,000 next year, meeting consumer demand for five- and six-seat models, Zhao said.

The new mid- to large-sized SUV will be Onvo’s key weapon to boost deliveries next year, Zhao said, according to Leiphone.

Onvo is also expected to announce a sedan model in the second half of 2025, but that won’t be a big help to overall volumes next year, the report said, without citing sources.

Onvo introduced the L60 in Hefei on September 19th and deliveries of the five-seat mid-size SUV began on September 28th.

The L60 starts at RMB 206,900 including battery, RMB 43,000 less than the Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) Model Y’s current starting price of RMB 249,900 in China.

When purchased on a BaaS basis, the Onvo L60 starts at RMB 149,900, with a monthly battery fee of RMB 599 or RMB 899 depending on battery capacity.

The L60’s production capacity is expected to reach 5,000 units in October and 10,000 units in December, Li said on September 20.

By January 2025, the model’s production capacity will reach at least 16,000 units and 20,000 units by March, Li said at the time.

The Leiphone report also addressed the challenge Onvo currently faces – the number of distribution channels.

Onvo’s first 105 offline stores opened on September 1, covering 55 cities, but the current number of channels is far from sufficient against Onvo’s planned one-month sales target, the report said.

The number of sub-brand stores is expected to increase to around 250 in the first quarter of 2025, and in addition to opening new stores, Onvo will also explore partnerships with third parties, according to the report.

Nio will try to entice retailers to offer stores and renovations and then rent out the stores, but the ultimate effectiveness of this approach is unknown, the report said.

At the launch of the L60, Onvo President Alan Ai said Onvo had 120 stores at the time and aimed to expand to 200 and cover 68 cities by the end of the year.

Regarding delivery targets, Li said in a conference call on September 5 that Nio hopes the Onvo L60 will reach 20,000 deliveries in a single month sometime in 2025.

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