Nio will begin accepting user registrations for Nio Day 2023 at 12:00 pm Beijing time on December 6.

Earlier today, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said on the third-quarter earnings call that Nio Day 2023 will be held in Xi'an on December 23, where the company will unveil a new flagship model.

The model will feature Nio's latest technological innovations and will become the global technology benchmark for smart EVs, leading the trend of smart EV technology, Li said.

Nio will continue to invest in its core technologies to ensure a competitive edge, and the new model will feature many of the world's leading technologies, Li said.

Li's statement implies that the new model will probably be an ultra-luxury model. The company's current models on sale are considered premium models, designed to compete with German luxury carmakers.

On December 14, 2022, local automotive media outlet Auto Home reported that Nio's ultra-luxury sedan was in the design stage and would be priced in the RMB 1 million ($140,000) class.

The limousine, which will be operated under the Nio brand rather than a sub-brand, will compete with the Mercedes-Benz Maybach S-Class, the report said, citing an insider one close to the project.

Xi'an is a well-known city in Chinese history, having been the capital of 13 dynasties. Some of its best-known attractions include the Terracotta Warriors.

Xi'an is also one of China's biggest producers of new energy vehicles (NEVs), with BYD (OTCMKTS: BYDDY) having a production facility here.

In 2022, Xi'an's NEV production reached 1,015,200 units, accounting for 14 percent of all NEV production in China, surpassing Shanghai's 988,600 units to become China's top producer of NEVs.

Shanghai had previously been the leader of China's NEV industry until 2022, producing 632,000 NEVs in 2021, well ahead of Xi'an's 269,000 during the same period.

In the first half of this year, Shanghai produced 611,500 NEVs, regaining its position as China's top NEV-producing city, local media outlet Jiemian said in a July 26 report.

Including Xi'an's output, Shaanxi province produced 430,000 NEVs in the first half of the year, 181,500 fewer than Shanghai, the report said, citing data from local statistical authorities.

Xi'an is one of the most supportive Chinese cities for NEVs, and earlier today the city unveiled initiatives to boost local NEV purchases, including increasing the number of NEV number plates, exempting them from registration fees, and increasing the number of NEV registration outlets.

($1 = RMB 7.1437)

Factbox: What Nio released at past Nio Day events