Onvo’s next model, the L80 SUV (sport utility vehicle), is starting to get more buzz as the Nio (NYSE: NIO) sub-brand adds to its product matrix later this year.
A user of Chinese automotive media outlet Xchuxing’s online community yesterday shared several spy photos of an SUV that he said was Onvo’s L80, internally codenamed Blanc.
“This camouflaged Onvo L80 looks really really big, and the front end sensor layout confirms that it’s an Onvo product,” @莱特宁NEV wrote.
He speculated that the Onvo L80 could be Nio Inc’s largest model in the short term, though noted that the facelifted ES7, based on the next-generation platform NT 3.0, could be even larger.
The internal codename for the facelifted ES7 is Cetus, and that model will also be a big car, the user said, adding that the Onvo brand and the Nio brand will cater to the market’s demand for larger models at different price points.
Onvo’s two new big cars are expected to be launched in the third to fourth quarter of this year, the user said.
A month ago, an image shared by He Lei, CEO of Xchuxing, purportedly from Onvo, hinted that the L80 had completed trial production and was about to enter the Tooling Trial (TT) phase.
Speaking at a user event in early January, Onvo vice president Xia Qinghua said the brand’s second car, which is benchmarked against Li Auto’s (NASDAQ: LI) Li L8 or Li L9, would be released later this year.
Onvo launched its first model, the L60, on September 19, 2024, with deliveries of the five-seat mid-size SUV beginning on September 28.
The L60 has a starting price of RMB 206,900 ($28,520) including the battery pack. When purchased under BaaS (battery as a service) plan, the starting price is RMB 149,900, with a monthly battery rental fee of RMB 599 or RMB 899 depending on the battery pack.
The day after the L60’s launch, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li told media outlets, including CnEVPost, in Hefei, Anhui province, on September 20, 2024, that Onvo would launch a mid-to-large-size SUV in 2025.
The new model would be a revolutionary product that will surprise and will begin deliveries in the third quarter of 2025, Li said at the time.
In an earnings call last November 20, Li said Onvo would launch two family SUVs in 2025 — a mid-to-large-size 6/7-seat SUV, and a large five-seat SUV.
Currently the Nio brand’s largest SUV is the flagship ES8, a six-seater with length, width and height of 5,099 mm, 1,989 mm, 1,750 mm, and a wheelbase of 3,070 mm.
The five-seat ES7 is slightly smaller, with a length, width and height of 4,912 mm, 1,987 mm and 1,720 mm, respectively, and a wheelbase of 2,960 mm.
As a five-seat mid-size SUV, the Onvo L60 measures 4,828 mm in length, 1,930 mm in width and 1,616 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,950 mm.
From the second quarter to the fourth quarter, Nio Inc would have new product launches in every quarter of this year, Li said in a live video broadcast on Douyin, a short-video platform, on February 8.
The Nio brand’s main selling models — ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, EC6 — will get facelifts, with minor changes to the exterior, an updated interior with horizontal center screens, according to Li.
Nio to launch new models or facelifts every quarter from Q2 onwards, CEO says
