All of Nio's current ES8, ES6, EC6 inventory and show cars will be sold to one entity, followed by an all-out push for sales of models based on the NT 2.0 platform, according to local media.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Nio (NYSE: NIO) appears to be accelerating the phase-out of older models and the rollout of new ones, after complaints about the company's slow pace of product launches.

Nio issued an urgent internal notice today that all first-generation products -- the ES8, ES6 and EC6, which are based on the NT 1.0 platform -- will be discontinued starting tomorrow, according to a report from automotive media outlet Yiche.

These older models will be withdrawn from Nio showrooms nationwide, and test cars will be retired, according to the report.

All of Nio's current ES8, ES6, EC6 inventory and show cars will be sold to one company or entity, which is not yet known, the report said.

The company will then go all out to push sales of models based on the NT 2.0 platform, including the EC7, ET7 and ET5, and get the OTD (Order To Delivery) cycle down to three weeks, according to the report.

For the all-new ES8 and the new EC6, the possibility of early start of deliveries is not ruled out, the report said.

Sun Shaojun, founder of local car consumer platform Car Fans, commented on Weibo when reposting the information that Nio made the move because the company cleared its entire inventory in two weeks, which is "very fast."

On February 2, local media Jiemian reported that Nio was offering discounts of up to 100,000 yuan ($14,900) on some models to boost sales.

The report quoted Nio salespeople as saying they have never seen such big discounts, but there are not many such cars available.

Considering the magnitude of the discounts, the report sparked a wide discussion in the Chinese community after it was published.

Nio later said that the claim that the price of its models had been reduced across the board was over-interpreted and non-existent.

On February 3, Nio released its official discount program, detailing the benefits it is offering for the older models, stock car discounts, and a small cash discount for NT 2.0 platform models.

Nio App is currently showcasing eight models, including the ES8, ES6 and EC6 based on the NT 1.0 platform, and the new ES8, ES7, EC7, ET7 and ET5 based on the NT 2.0 platform.

The EC7 coupe SUV and the all-new ES8 were launched at Nio Day 2022 on December 24, 2022, and Nio said at the time that deliveries of the two models would begin in May and June 2023, respectively.

After the launch of the EC7 as well as the new ES8, Nio's older models are still on sale.

Yesterday, the ES7, ET7 and ET5 all saw slightly shorter wait times, information from the company's mobile app monitored by CnEVPost showed.

Consumers who lock in their ES7 orders now are expected to get deliveries in about 3 weeks, the latest information from the Nio App shows. Previously, the wait time for the ES7 was 3-4 weeks.

The latest wait time for Nio's flagship sedan, the ET7, is also about 3 weeks, slightly shorter than the previous 3-4 weeks. The company's less expensive sedan, the ET5, has a wait time of 2-3 weeks, down from about 3 weeks previously.

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