NIO ES8 price cut stirs up the market: It has competitors in a panic and also inadvertently hurt existing customers.

From Binzi (a familiar nickname) to Brother Bin and then to God Bin, with the ultra - low pricing of the new ES8, Li Bin, the founder of NIO, has reversed his public image and is now hailed as a legend.

On August 23rd, Li Bin posted a message saying, "Front - line colleagues reported that although Friday was a weekday, the doors and the front and rear trunks of the display cars were never closed all day, and they were still receiving customers at three o'clock in the morning."

The extremely low price has outperformed competitors. One car owner stated, "I've decided to give up on the Li Auto i8. After seeing the NIO ES8 today, I immediately placed an order."

However, old car owners have mixed feelings. Some old car owners feel "stabbed in the back." "In just eight months, the book value of my NIO ES8 (75 - kWh battery) has dropped by nearly 170,000 yuan. This isn't just an investment blunder; it's like being precisely stabbed in the back."

Some long - time supporters of "God Bin" among the old car owners are relieved, believing that NIO can survive, and they don't have to worry about future maintenance.

Let's take a look at the new NIO ES8. The pre - sale price starts from 416,800 to 456,800 yuan. After the Battery as a Service (BaaS) option, it starts from 308,800 to 348,800 yuan. Compared with the previous generation of the NIO ES8, the entry - level price of the new ES8 is 81,200 yuan cheaper, and with the BaaS option, it's 119,200 yuan cheaper.

Considering that the actual selling price of new cars is usually lower than the pre - sale price, the starting price of the new ES8 at its official launch is very likely to fall into the 300,000 - yuan range.

“Every year is crucial, and every day is a battle for survival,” said Qin Lihong, the president of NIO, at a media briefing on the morning of August 22nd.

Li Bin, who once stubbornly refused to cut prices, has also changed his stance. He clearly stated that if NIO continues to maintain high prices, it will be difficult to compete in the market. “Survival is the most important thing.”

Survival is the Most Important

“NIO is in a bit of a dangerous situation this year, but if it gets through, it will be a new beginning,” said a car owner who has bought six NIO cars in total to Finance Story Collection.

In 2018, he became the owner of a limited - edition ES8. At that time, the only electric car on the market was the Tesla Model X, which had the advantage of free lifetime charging. However, after a test drive, he found the suspension too stiff and gave it up, choosing the limited - edition NIO ES8 instead. The reason was simple: “It had many first - of - their - kind features, such as battery swapping, the intelligent system NOMI, the queen's co - pilot, the intelligent cockpit, and being part of the pure - electric 4 - second club.”

However, NIO is currently facing tough times.

In the first half of this year, compared with the first - tier new - energy vehicle startups such as Leapmotor, Li Auto, and XPeng, NIO not only had the lowest sales but also had a high and persistent loss. The Q1 financial report showed that NIO's net loss widened by more than 30% year - on - year, reaching 6.75 billion yuan. According to the company's annual financial reports, NIO's cumulative losses have exceeded 100 billion yuan. During the same period, NIO's current liabilities exceeded its current assets, pushing its asset - liability ratio to 92.55% at the end of the first quarter.

Although the five - seat SUV, the LeDao L60, quickly became an important contributor to NIO's sales volume after its delivery began in the fourth quarter of 2024, and improved NIO's total delivery data in the first half of 2025, the increase in sales of the lower - priced LeDao brand has not significantly improved NIO's overall financial situation.

The financial report showed that in the first quarter of this year, NIO's automotive gross profit margin dropped to 10.2%, a 2.9 - percentage - point decrease from the previous quarter; the overall gross profit margin was 7.6%, a 4.1 - percentage - point decrease from the previous quarter.

For reference, in the first quarter of 2025, the gross profit margin of AITO was 27.6%, Xiaomi was 23.2%, Li Auto was 20.5%, BYD was 20.1%, Zeekr was 19.1%, and Tesla's automotive business was 16.2%.

With its profitability yet to be proven, NIO continues to "burn" money. Currently, NIO has built a large - scale battery - swapping network. According to calculations by Mobility Finance, assuming an operating cost of 500,000 yuan per battery - swapping station and a total of 3,000 stations, NIO spends 1.5 billion yuan on the operating costs of battery - swapping stations in just one year.

Survival is NIO's top priority at present and the key reason for the ultra - low pricing of the new ES8. Meanwhile, the cost of the new ES8 is much lower than the previous two generations, so there is still a profit margin even with the low price.

Although NIO has not announced the specific sales volume of the new ES8, according to Qin Lihong, from the end of the press conference the previous night to the next morning, in the same time period, the number of orders for the new ES8 has exceeded that of the LeDao flagship model L90, which was launched at the end of last month.

The ES8 Stirs Up Waves, Making Competitors Lose Sleep

When consumers realize that they can get NIO's full - size flagship SUV with the budget of a "discounted" BMW iX3 or Audi e - tron, the market balance has tilted significantly.

NIO's pricing strategy for the new ES8 is not a simple market promotion but a well - thought - out "dimensionality reduction strike" aimed at the "luxury family" market dominated by models such as the Li Auto i8 and the AITO M9 EV, and also targeting the electric vehicles of traditional luxury brands like BBA.

Why can the "ultra - low - priced" ES8 stir up waves?

On the one hand, in terms of price, the new NIO ES8 has transformed from a "high - end luxury" product into a "high - value luxury flagship." Its pricing range is lower than that of the Li Auto i8 and the AITO M9 EV, and it may even reach the price range of the XPeng G9 and the Zeekr 001 after its official launch.

On the other hand, features such as the battery - swapping system, dual - motor performance, luxurious interior, and spacious space, which were previously only available in cars priced over 500,000 yuan, make the cost - effectiveness of the new NIO ES8 even more prominent. In terms of size, the new ES8 has a body length of 5,280 mm and a wheelbase of 3,130 mm, both of which exceed those of the BMW X7.

Looking at the configuration, even the entry - level model of the new ES8 comes standard with a 900V high - voltage architecture, a 102 - kWh battery, intelligent dual - chamber air suspension, and front and rear dual motors with a combined power of 520 kW, a peak torque of 700 N·m, and an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.97 seconds. The CLTC comprehensive cruising range reaches 635 kilometers. The differences between the top - end and entry - level models are only in details such as intelligent headlights, 22 - inch wheels, and NOMI.

When a fully - equipped and ultra - low - priced new ES8 hits the market, which competitor will be the most nervous?

The first one is the Li Auto i8. The Li Auto i8 is a three - row, six - seat pure - electric SUV launched by Li Auto, targeting high - end family users. It started its delivery on August 20th, one day before the pre - sale of the new NIO ES8.

In fact, the two companies have been competing even before the pre - sale of the new ES8. During the launch of the LeDao three - row SUV L90, the Li Auto i8 was already on sale. Although Li Bin publicly wished the Li Auto i8 great success, the two companies were secretly competing in terms of promotion. Li Auto held a technology press conference, while NIO released spy photos of the new ES8's interior.

Li Auto's core selling point has always been the "refrigerator, color TV, and big sofa" family - friendly features. However, at the pre - sale press conference of the new NIO ES8, Li Bin directly presented data from three MPV models for comparison. He said that in terms of ease of entry and exit, seating space, and storage space, the new NIO ES8 has reached or even exceeded the data of mainstream MPVs.

To capture the market for large - sized pure - electric three - row SUVs, Tesla launched the Model Y L. Compared with the five - seat version, the main feature of the Model Y L is its larger size. Users can buy a six - seat Tesla SUV for less than 340,000 yuan. However, compared with the new NIO ES8, the Model Y L lacks luxury features such as zero - gravity seats and a second - row large screen.

The impact on traditional luxury brands like BBA may be even greater. These automakers' electric vehicles are relatively lagging in terms of intelligent features and localized user experience. Once the price range of the ES8 overlaps with theirs, it may divert their customers.

The aftermath of the price storm has even affected players in the lower - price segment. When the price of the ES8 drops to the 300,000 - yuan level, it will inevitably compete with the high - end versions of models such as the XPeng G9 and the Zeekr 001.

All in all, NIO's move, though seemingly radical, is actually well - targeted. With a flagship product, it has shaken up the entire high - end new - energy vehicle market in the price range from 300,000 to 500,000 yuan.

However, the danger is that this "double - edged sword" has also hurt some of NIO's old car owners. One old car owner said disappointedly, "NIO claims to be a user - centric company. Why is it so cruel to old car owners?!"

Supporting "God Bin" but Unwilling to Be "Stabbed," Old Car Owners Have Mixed Feelings

“God Bin.”

After the pre - sale press conference of the new NIO ES8 on August 21st, in the comment section of a Weibo post by Li Bin, new car owners who had already placed orders gave Li Bin a thumbs - up in unison.

“We'll definitely be profitable in the fourth quarter! God Bin, God Bin, God Bin. I believe more and more people are starting to understand the layout of the three brands. This is long - termism,” an old car owner commented.

While new car owners are happily placing orders, some old car owners feel "stabbed in the back."

“I've only owned my (second - generation) ES8 for less than eight months, and the book value has dropped by more than 170,000 yuan. Even considering that cars are consumables and will naturally depreciate, the speed of this value decline is shocking,” an owner who claimed to have bought a 2024 - model NIO ES8 for 420,000 yuan in December 2024 posted a complaint on the Xiaohongshu social platform.

“No one has contacted me so far, and when I contacted the customer service myself, I didn't get any positive response,” the above - mentioned old car owner told Finance Story Collection helplessly. “My post has already had 40,000 views, but all I've received are a lot of malicious comments.”

Old car owners who bought the 2024 - model NIO ES8 in the first half of this year have even more to complain about. Zhang Nan, an old car owner who paid and picked up his car in March, complained, “I didn't mind that the car was a 2024 exhibition model. I endured the big price cut to clear the inventory in April. But then in August, the new model with a battery only costs 410,000 yuan. I'm really frustrated.”

“Before I bought the car, the salesperson clearly told me that the new NIO ES8 would definitely not be launched this year, so I placed the order. But less than five months later, the new car was on the market. I'm a bit disappointed,” Zhang Nan told Finance Story Collection. “I've also complained to the salesperson, but there's nothing I can do.” According to Zhang Nan, the total cost of his car, including the bare - car price, 100 - kWh battery rental, purchase tax, insurance, and car coating, was more than 560,000 yuan.

What makes Zhang Nan even more uncomfortable is that the new ES8 has a better configuration than the old model. “There's no doubt that the architecture of the new ES8 compared to the old one is like comparing a 5070 graphics card to a 3070,” he said angrily.

The ultra - low price of the new car has also halved the value of related used cars. The official price of a new car is the core reference point for the residual value of a used car. A significant drop in the new - car price means that the resale value of the old - model cars will plummet, directly harming the economic interests of old car owners.

“If you're really interested, I can give you a better price,” Mr. An told Finance Story Collection. “If the new model，weren't launched, I could sell my car for 20,000 to 30,000 yuan more.”

On the Xianyu second - hand trading platform, Mr. An is selling a 2024 - model NIO ES8 with a 75 - kWh BaaS battery. It was registered in December 2024, has traveled 14,000 kilometers, and has no accident history. He has priced it at 236,000 yuan. “Many people think the price is too high. Now, many people are asking if I'll sell it for 200,000 yuan, but my lowest price is 220,000 yuan, so I'll wait a bit longer,” he said.

“It's better for NIO to sell well at a lower price than