Nio will hold an event to launch the new EC6 on September 15 starting at 8 pm. Customers can already pay RMB 5,000 to pre-order the model.

Nio (NYSE: NIO) today officially announced that the new EC6 will be officially launched this Friday, confirming what was previously shared by a social media user.

Nio will hold an event starting at 8 pm Beijing time on September 15 to launch the all-new EC6, a smart electric coupe SUV, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker announced today.

Nio didn't offer much more, and the EC6 is the company's only remaining model that has yet to transition from the older NT 1.0 platform to the newer NT 2.0 platform.

A Weibo user last week quoted Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong as saying at a partner conference that Nio will release the new EC6 on September 15 and will begin deliveries soon.

Nio plans to launch and start delivering the EC6, a newly upgraded mid-size coupe SUV, in September, completing a full product switchover based on the NT 2.0 platform, the company's management said in an August 29 analyst call after it reported second-quarter earnings.

Nio's eight products will target the premium pure-play EV market to meet the diverse needs of users in the premium segment and drive steady growth in overall deliveries, the company said.

The Nio App has updated the page for the EC6, showing that the model has begun accepting reservations from consumers, a CnEVPost check shows.

Customers can now pay a deposit of RMB 5,000 yuan (680) to reserve the new EC6, which will give them access to limited-time pre-sale benefits. Pre-order holders will also be able to earn Nio Credits rewards worth RMB 1,000 upon locking in their order.

The launch of the EC6, based on the NT 1.0 platform, took place on December 28, 2019, with first deliveries in September 2020.

The model was previously offered in three versions priced from RMB 396,000, RMB 436,000, and RMB 496,000, with a starting price of RMB 10,000 higher than the old ES6 based on the NT 1.0 platform. The old ES6 was previously offered in three versions as well.

Nio lowered the prices of all models by RMB 30,000 at the end of June, and made the previously free battery swap service a paid option, which is no longer available from August.

Only one version of the new ES6, based on the NT 2.0 platform, is currently available, with a starting price of RMB 338,000 yuan.

Nio has traditionally priced its more niche models at RMB 10,000 more than the starting price of its regular models. But the company unexpectedly kept the price of the ET5 Touring, the wagon variant of the ET5, in line with the regular ET5.

It would be reasonable for the new EC6 to be priced RMB 10,000 higher than the new ES6, and would exceed expectations if they were priced the same.

($1 = RMB 7.3223)

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