The models ahead of the Nio ET7 are all traditional internal combustion engine cars, dominated by models from German luxury brands BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

The ET7, Nio's flagship sedan, sold 3,126 units at retail in August, placing it No. 8 on the list of top-selling premium sedans in China with a starting price of more than 300,000 yuan ($43,360), according to a ranking released today by the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).

The ET7 ranking in the list is the same as in July when production of the model was affected by die-casting parts and was down 43 percent from June to 2,473 units.

Nio delivered 10,677 vehicles in August, up 81.58 percent from a year ago and up 6.22 percent from July, data released earlier this month showed.

Cumulative deliveries of the Nio ET7 since deliveries began on March 28 were 12,511 vehicles.

In the third quarter, lower-than-expected yields for partners' one-piece die-casting parts had some impact on Nio's production, William Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a conference call after announcing second-quarter earnings on September 7.

Nio has sent engineers to work with partners to resolve the issues and has brought in new suppliers. Overall, the issues were basically resolved, he said.

In the CPCA's latest list, the models ahead of the Nio ET7 are all traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, dominated by models from German luxury brands BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

It is worth noting that the sales of these German luxury models in August were significantly higher than the same month last year, as China's policy of halving the purchase tax on ICE vehicles took effect in June.

Chinese consumers can now enjoy purchase tax exemptions on NEVs, and since June, the country has reduced the purchase tax on mainstream ICE vehicles to stimulate economic growth.

The BMW 5 Series ranked first with 16,039 units sold in August, while the Audi A4 was second with 13,833 units and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class was third with 12,952 units. Year-on-year sales growth for these three models was 4.7 percent, 65.2 percent and 67 percent, respectively.

From January to August, the Nio ET7 ranked 9th in the premium sedan sales ranking.

The BMW 5 Series ranked first with 121,393 units from January to August, with sales up 1.1 percent year-on-year. The BMW 3 Series came in second with 106,508 units, with sales down 18.3 percent year on year. The Audi A4 ranked third with 101,203 units, an 11 percent increase in sales year-on-year.

NIO delivers 10,677 vehicles in Aug, up 6% from July