The Mercedes-Benz C-Class was No. 1 with 10,648 units sold, but down 34.1 percent from a year ago.

Despite only starting deliveries at the end of March, Nio's (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) flagship sedan, the ET7, has already entered a highly-regarded ranking.

With 693 retail sales in April, the Nio ET7 ranked 10th among premium sedans in China with a starting price above RMB 300,000 ($44,610), according to a list released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

Nio delivered 5,074 vehicles in April, down 49 percent from 9,985 in March and 29 percent from 7,102 a year ago, as Covid hit the supply chain hard.

The company delivered 4,381 SUVs in April, including 1,251 ES8s, 1,878 ES6s and 1,252 EC6s, according to figures it announced earlier this month.

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class, with 10,648 retail sales in China in April, was the top model on the CPCA's list, but sales were down 34.1 percent from a year ago.

The BMW 5 Series ranked second, with 10,328 units sold, down 29.7 percent from a year ago.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class ranked third, with sales of 8,390 units, down 42.3 percent from the same period last year.

The BMW 3 Series ranked fourth, with sales of 7,752 units, down 55.4 percent year-on-year.

The Audi A4 ranked fifth, with sales of 5,594 units, down 58.5 percent year-on-year.

The Audi A6 ranked sixth, with sales of 3,064 units, down 81 percent year-on-year.

The Volvo S90 ranked seventh, with sales of 1,416 units, down 59.3 percent year-on-year.

The Hongqi H9 ranked eighth, with sales of 1,373 units, down 25.9 percent year-on-year.

The Hongqi E-QM5 ranked ninth with 824 units sold, up 2,646.7 percent from 30 units a year ago.

Nio unveiled the ET7, its first sedan and the first model on its NT 2.0 platform, at the Nio Day 2020 event on January 9, 2021.

(Nio ET7. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Nio is offering two version options for the model with pre-subsidy prices of RMB 448,000 and RMB 526,000 respectively. If customers choose the battery rental service BaaS, the starting price will be reduced by at least RMB 70,000.

ET7 started to be delivered to the first customers on March 28, and the delivery volume in March was 163 units.

It is worth noting that Shanghai, where Nio's global headquarters is located, has been in lockdown since March 28 due to Covid control, which severely impacted the ET7's initial delivery pace.

William Li, the founder, chairman and CEO of Nio, said on March 28 that because of the impact of Covid and the time needed for ET7 capacity to climb, the initial delivery volume will be low, and he hopes users can understand.