Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) expanded its credit-based car subscription service to cover Onvo vehicles and the flagship ES8 SUV on March 26, 2026, with plans available in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Hefei starting at 2,999 CNY (c. $434) per month.

Source: Onvo

The service, called the "Sesame 800 Car Subscription," is powered by Ant Group's Alipay platform and operated through automotive subscription provider SUPEREV. Access is gated by Zhima Credit — Alipay's consumer credit scoring system — and is open only to users with a score of 800 or above, a threshold that already unlocks deposit-free access to hotel stays, car rentals, and short-term leases across China.

Subscribers can choose from one-year or two-year commitment periods. The Onvo lineup, which includes the L60 and L90 SUVs, is accessible from 2,999 CNY (c. $434) per month. The third-generation Nio ES8 is also available at 6,999 CNY (c. $1,014) per month. Onvo's sub-brand sibling Firefly is included in the program at 2,399 CNY (c. $347) per month.

SUPEREV, described as the first company in China to offer car subscription services, handles booking, delivery, logistics, and customer management. Nio supplies the vehicles and provides access to its wider ecosystem, including Nio House locations and the Nio app. Users can subscribe through Alipay by searching for "Zhima Credit" and navigating to the "Car Subscription" entry point.

Source: Firefly

The service traces its origins to the 2025 Guangzhou Auto Show in November, when Nio founder and CEO William Li announced what was billed as China's first credit-driven car subscription — a seven-day trial for the Firefly compact EV. That pilot went live in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, with roughly 200 users participating in the first month.

Wednesday's launch widens the program significantly: the addition of the Onvo models marks the first time Nio's mass-market sub-brand has entered a subscription format, and the longer one- and two-year commitment periods represent a structural evolution from the original seven-day trial.

Onvo has faced softening demand since the phase-out of China's national trade-in subsidies at the start of 2026. The brand delivered 2,981 vehicles in February — less than 20% of Nio Group's total of 20,797 units that month — after its deliveries fell more than 60% month-on-month in January.

Nio has deployed a series of demand-stimulation measures in response, including extended zero-interest financing plans and purchase tax subsidies for the L60 and L90. The subscription service adds another pathway to the brand for buyers who are reluctant to commit to an outright purchase amid faster product cycles and uncertain resale values.

The broader shift away from ownership-first models has gathered pace in China as NEV penetration has risen and turnover rates for models have shortened. SUPEREV's subscription infrastructure spans short-term seven-day trials through long-term commitments of up to five years, and the company has said it intends to expand available cities and vehicle models as operations scale.

Nio first deployed a subscription model in Europe, where leasing is more prevalent, before adapting the concept for the Chinese domestic market through the credit-score mechanism.

Onvo is preparing to launch the L80, a five-seat SUV, in mid-May — coinciding with the brand's first anniversary — with an unveiling expected at the Beijing Auto Show in mid-April. Whether the subscription channel can materially move the needle on Onvo's monthly volumes before that new model arrives will be an early test of how effectively credit infrastructure can substitute for conventional sales incentives.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.9034 CNY as of March 26, 2026