NIO ES8 Dominates Chinese Large SUV Market for the Third Consecutive Month

The NIO ES8, in its third generation, maintained leadership in China's large SUV segment for the third consecutive month, with 11,260 units sold in February 2026, surpassing the Zeekr 9X which delivered 4,878 vehicles.

Even facing one of the slowest auto sales seasons in recent years, caused by the Lunar New Year holidays, the CPCA indicated February as a likely demand minimum. The month had only 16 working days, three fewer than the previous year.

For Nio, the ES8 accounted for 54.14% of the company's total deliveries (20,797 units) and 74.28% of the brand's main line deliveries. By the end of February, the ES8 had accumulated 71,260 units, having passed the 70,000 mark on February 27 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. The company projects reaching the 80,000th delivery as early as March, according to co-founder and president Qin Lihong.

February Ranking and Market Benchmark

• Zeekr 9X: 4,878
• Aito M8: 3,992
• Aito M9: 3,085
• Lynk & Co 900: 2,153
• Denza N8L: 1,423

The ES8's performance, exceeding the sum of all rivals ranked second through fifth, emphasizes both the launch momentum and February's seasonality harming the rest of the market.

The official launch occurred on September 20, 2025, during Nio Day in Hangzhou, with deliveries starting the following day. In terms of pace, the company said the ramp-up to 50,000 units took only 120 days, considered among the fastest for an electric vehicle priced above 400k CNY in the country.

Technical specifications point to a 900-volt NT3.0 platform, with two motors generating up to 520 kW of power and 700 Nm of torque, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.97 seconds. The standard pack is 102 kWh (4C) with a CLTC range of 635 km. A 120 kWh (5C) pack is planned for the future.

The vehicle measures 5,280 mm in length, 2,010 mm in width, 1,800 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,130 mm; there are six or seven-seat options. The sensor suite totals 31 devices, including a roof-mounted LiDAR, with the driving path supported by SkyOS and the Shenji NX9031 driving chip.

On the pricing front, the version with a built-in battery starts at 406,800 CNY, or 298,800 CNY under the BaaS model. The Signature edition reaches 446,800 CNY with battery and 338,800 CNY on BaaS. As an incentive, Nio has launched a 10,000 CNY subsidy for orders until March 31, accompanied by five years of access to Navigate on Pilot Plus.

From a financial perspective, the ES8 is also part of the company's recovery. Nio reported GAAP operating profit of 807.3 million CNY in the fourth quarter of 2025, the first quarterly profit since its founding. The vehicle gross margin reached 18.1% in Q4 2025, with a total gross margin of 17.5%. The ES8 contributed 39,697 deliveries in Q4, corresponding to 32% of the total 124,807 deliveries in the period, and the CFO cited that the ES8 gross margin was close to 25% in Q4, driven by scale gains and cost reductions.

Seasonally, February showed a sequential drop of 36.23% compared to January, which had 17,658 units. The waiting time for the ES8 also decreased from 24–26 weeks at the end of 2025 to about 3–4 weeks in early March 2026, as production ramps up in Nio's three Hefei parks and demand normalizes after the launch.

The competitive environment is expected to heat up. The Zeekr 9X has accumulated over 30,000 deliveries, and other players await news for the large SUV segment in 2026, with new launches and refreshes scheduled by Li Auto, Aito, XPeng, and SAIC Volkswagen.

Nio's guidance for the first quarter of 2026 points to between 80,000 and 83,000 deliveries, with expectations to maintain strong YoY growth and achieve non-GAAP operating profitability throughout the year. The ES9, which will be the larger and more expensive flagship, has its technological presentation scheduled for April 9 or 10, with an official launch at the end of May and first deliveries on June 1.

How will the ES8 maintain leadership in the face of future generations and rivals in the premium SUV market? Leave your opinion in the comments below.

Question for readers: Do you believe the ES8 will manage to maintain leadership against the new generations of the ES9 and rivals in the large SUV segment?