Source: NIO

NIO (NYSE: NIO) is on course to deliver its 90,000th third-generation ES8 this week, with the company's head of user operations flagging the milestone on March 31, 2026 — roughly 192 days after customer handovers began on September 21, 2025.

The pace reflects an accelerating delivery cadence in March. NIO recorded its 80,000th third-generation ES8 delivery on March 20, 2026, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, meaning the model has added approximately 10,000 units in just 11 days on the way to the new threshold.

The third-generation ES8 debuted at NIO Day 2025 on September 20, 2025, replacing a platform that had been in service since 2018. The vehicle targets China's competitive premium large SUV market, where it has held the segment's top sales position for three consecutive months through February 2026.

Pricing starts from 406,800 CNY (c. $58,800) under NIO's Battery as a Service subscription model, which separates the vehicle cost from the battery pack. Buyers opting for outright ownership — adding back the 102 kWh battery pack at 108,000 CNY — pay 514,800 CNY (c. $74,500).

NIO introduced a 10,000 CNY (c. $1,400) purchase tax subsidy for new ES8 buyers in March, alongside seven-year low-interest financing and five years of complimentary NOP+ driver-assistance access.

Source: NIO

The model is powered by dual motors producing 520 kW and 700 Nm of torque, enabling a 0–100 km/h sprint of 3.97 seconds. The standard 102 kWh NCM battery, supplied by CATL, delivers a CLTC-rated range of 635 km (394 miles) and charges on a 900V architecture at up to 4C, with battery swap supported across NIO's swap network.

The six- or seven-seat full-size SUV rides on dual-chamber air suspension with adjustable ride height and stiffness, and is fitted with NIO's Banyan autonomous driving system incorporating three LiDAR units alongside radar and cameras.

Monthly delivery volumes have remained above 10,000 units since October 2025. The ES8 reached 17,646 deliveries in January 2026, topping China's large SUV sales chart and all models priced above 400,000 CNY for a second consecutive month. February retail sales dipped to 11,260 units — accounting for more than half of NIO's total monthly deliveries — owing to the Chinese New Year holiday, before March production rebounded toward an estimated 20,000 units.

Source: NIO

Weekly NIO group orders hit their highest level of 2026 in the first week of March at approximately 3,500 units, with the ES8 the primary driver. New orders now face a four-to-five week delivery wait, indicating that capacity utilisation has settled into a steady rhythm.

The ES8's commercial momentum has fed directly into NIO's first-ever quarterly operating profit. The company reported a GAAP operating profit of 807.3 million CNY ($115.4 million) for Q4 2025, reversing a loss of 6,032.9 million CNY in the same period a year earlier, as quarterly revenue surged 75.9% year-on-year to 34.65 billion CNY (c. $5.01 billion).

Fourth-quarter group deliveries reached 124,807 vehicles, up 71.70% year-on-year, with the ES8 generating a gross margin of close to 25%. NIO has guided for 456,000 to 489,000 group deliveries in 2026.

Whether NIO can sustain production north of 20,000 ES8 units per month into the second quarter — and whether that rate is enough to keep pace with a narrowing order backlog — may matter as much as the cumulative tally now clicking toward six figures.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.9129 CNY as of March 31, 2026