Today (May 27), NIO unveiled that Yao Ming has taken on the role of Chief Experience Officer for their cutting-edge tech executive flagship SUV, the NIO ES9.

According to NIO, the ES9 is the pinnacle of eleven years of systematic innovation and stands as a trailblazer in the intelligent electric executive flagship SUV market.

At 19:30 today, the NIO ES9 will make its official debut in Hangzhou and will be open for pre-orders. The new vehicle will be available in three trims: Executive Luxury, Executive Signature, and Horizon Special Edition, with pre-order prices starting at RMB 528,000, RMB 480,000, and RMB 658,000, respectively. For those opting for the BaaS (Battery as a Service) leasing option, the pre-order prices will start at RMB 420,000, RMB 480,000, and RMB 550,000, respectively.

Visually, the ES9 boasts a length of 5,365 mm and a wheelbase of 3,250 mm, officially earning the title of China's largest pure electric SUV by volume. This makes Yao Ming, standing at 2.26 meters tall, the perfect fit for the role of Chief Experience Officer. The comfortable driving experience it offers is undoubtedly a strong selling point.

Image Source: NIO

In terms of interior space, the ES9 provides a longitudinal passenger cabin space of up to 2,805 mm, with a maximum legroom of 1,520 mm in the second row and a knee room of 595 mm, ranking first in all three categories among its competitors. The headroom in each row exceeds 1 meter. Horizontally, the shoulder room in the first two rows exceeds 1.5 meters. The ES9 comes in two configurations: a 6-seat central island layout and a 6-seat aisle layout, catering to different preferences for a pure executive experience and easy access to the third row.

Performance-wise, the ES9 comes equipped with a high-performance dual-motor setup as standard, featuring a 180kW induction asynchronous motor at the front and a 340kW permanent magnet synchronous motor at the rear, delivering a peak torque of 700 Nm. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.3 seconds and offers a CLTC combined range of 620 kilometers. Moreover, the 900V architecture not only supports 5C ultra-fast charging but also seamlessly integrates with NIO's unique industry-leading rechargeable, swappable, and upgradable energy network, enabling battery swaps in just 3 minutes.

Furthermore, it's worth noting that NIO also announced today that the ES9 will make its debut with a new version of the NIO World Model. Users of existing models equipped with Banyan, Cedar, and Cedar S intelligent systems will receive the update in June.

Six days ago, NIO released its Q1 2026 financial results, showcasing a remarkably robust performance: revenue reached RMB 25.533 billion, marking a significant year-over-year increase of 112.2%; adjusted net profit reached RMB 43.5 million, achieving profitability for the second consecutive quarter. The gross margin for vehicles was 18.8%, and the overall gross margin was 19.0%, both reaching their highest levels in nearly four years.

However, NIO still faces substantial operational challenges. Calculated under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), NIO's net loss for the first quarter was still RMB 332 million, while quarter-over-quarter deliveries declined by 33.1%, indicating ongoing hurdles for future growth.

Since the beginning of the year, NIO has transitioned from its previous single-product strategy to launching a flurry of new products. In April, four models—the 2026 ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5T—were officially launched. In May, the sub-brand L90 2026 was delivered, the executive flagship SUV NIO ES9 was launched, and the L80 and Firefly facelift models are set to follow with upcoming releases.

As NIO's new wave of products gradually hits the market, we eagerly await to see how its subsequent delivery performance will pan out.