Nio's plant in NeoPark has a planned capacity of 300,000 units and is currently producing the ET5 sedan.

(Nio Eve concept car. Image credit: CnEVPost)

Nio's second manufacturing base at NeoPark in Hefei, Anhui province, will begin production of a new model as soon as the second half of next year, which is scheduled to be launched at Nio Day at the end of this year, the company's co-founder and president Qin Lihong said today.

Nio's plant in NeoPark has a planned capacity of 300,000 units and is currently producing the ET5 sedan, local media Cailian quoted Qin as saying today during the ongoing Chengdu auto show.

Chengdu Motor Show 2022, the 25th e Chengdu international auto show, opened today in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, with Nio bringing its full range of models.

Earlier today, Qin said at a live video-streamed media event that deliveries of the Nio ET5 will begin on September 30 and that he expects the model to overtake sales of the gasoline-powered BMW 3 Series in China within a year.

Nio unveiled the ET5, the company's fifth model and its second sedan after the ET7, at the Nio Day 2021 event late last year.

The ET5 is the first model to be produced at Nio's plant in NeoPark, and all other models, including the ES7 and ET7, are produced at its first plant, the JAC-Nio advanced manufacturing base.

(The exterior of Nio's factory in NeoPark. Image credit: Nio)

Nio is in the process of selecting cities for the Nio Day 2022 event, and current candidates include Guangzhou, Hefei and Xi'an.

There are no clues as to what model the company will unveil at the new Nio Day.

However, it is worth noting that earlier this month, William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of Nio, said in an owners' exchange group that the company would have a '9 Series' model in its product array.

There has been speculation that Nio's 9 Series model could be an MPV, but the company said late last year that MPVs were not a high priority for the company.

In addition, the Nio sub-brand's first model is not expected to be released this year.

Nio plans to start delivering a model for the mass market brand in the second half of 2024 that will be based on the NT 3.0 platform, the company said during an earnings call on June 9.

The model is priced at between 200,000 and 300,000 yuan, and it will be powered by Nio's own manufactured battery, which will also support battery swap and high-voltage fast charging, according to Nio.

Video offers rare glimpse inside NIO's plant in NeoPark