NIO ES8 History
NIO's full-size flagship electric SUV — the brand's first production vehicle, launched in 2018 with available seven-seat seating and battery-swap compatibility.
Photo: “Nio ES8 front” by Jengtingchen / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
History
The ES8 was unveiled in December 2017 as NIO's first production vehicle, with customer deliveries beginning on June 28, 2018 — making it the car that put NIO on the map as a real automaker. Built on an all-aluminum structure with dual electric motors producing around 480 kW (643 hp) combined, the ES8 offered seven-seat capacity and AWD, targeting premium Chinese families.
From launch, all ES8s were compatible with NIO's battery-swap network, allowing a depleted pack to be swapped for a fully charged one in around three minutes at a Power Swap Station — a tangible operational advantage over charge-only competitors. Battery options grew over time from the original 70 kWh pack to 84 kWh, 100 kWh, and eventually a 150 kWh semi-solid-state unit.
A third generation of the ES8 was announced for 2025 with a pre-sale price of approximately RMB 416,800. Cumulative deliveries surpassed 210,000 units across its production life as of 2025, underscoring its importance as the brand's full-size flagship.
Generations
First generation · ES8 Gen 1
Photo: “Nio ES8 front” by Jengtingchen / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
NIO's founding production vehicle — the original aluminum-body, dual-motor full-size SUV, delivered from June 2018.
2018 Photo: “2018 NIO ES8” by User3204 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2022 Photo: “NIO ES8 Shishi 01 2022-06-24” by JamesYoung8167 / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Second generation (NT 2.0) · ES8 Gen 2
Photo: “NIO ES8 II 001” by JustAnotherCarDesigner / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Rebuilt on NIO's NT 2.0 intelligent platform with LiDAR, updated styling, and expanded battery options.
2022 Photo: “2022 NIO ES8 (2)” by Ssu / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
2024 Photo: “Nio eS8 at Nio House Suzhou Center-20240523” by Shwangtianyuan / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Body styles
- 4-door SUV
Related models
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