• Nio will hold a product and technology event for the third-generation ES8 in late August and officially launch the SUV at Nio Day 2025 in September.
• The third-generation ES8 will begin arriving at Nio stores on August 21, according to a car blogger.

Nio Inc's (NYSE: NIO) third-generation ES8 has been spotted in the wild as the SUV (sport utility vehicle) approaches its official debut.

An image circulating on Weibo and WeChat groups today shows a new ES8 parked on grass, possibly being filmed for promotional materials.

The clothing of a man standing next to the vehicle suggests that the photo may have been taken several months ago when temperatures were lower.

The new ES8 will feature the same central touchscreen as the ET9, along with digital rearview mirrors and side-facing LiDARs, according to @肉肉爸比ev, a car blogger who has been closely following Nio, on Weibo today.

The third-generation ES8 will begin arriving at Nio stores on August 21 and will be launched at Nio Day in September, the blogger said.

The ET9 is Nio's flagship sedan, which was officially launched at Nio Day 2024 in December 2024, equipped with Nio's latest technologies, including its in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip.

On August 1, during a media briefing the day after the launch of the L90 large SUV by Nio's sub-brand Onvo, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said that the company will unveil the third-generation ES8 later this month and officially launch it at Nio Day 2025 next month.

Nio will hold a product and technology launch event for the third-generation ES8 in late August, at which time the exhibition vehicles will be available at stores, Li said at the time.

The ES8 is Nio's first mass-produced model, with the first generation launched on December 16, 2017, at Nio Day 2017.

The second-generation ES8 was launched on December 24, 2022, at Nio Day 2022, transitioning to the NT 2.0 platform.

The model is Nio's current flagship SUV, with a starting price of RMB 498,000 ($69,260) including the battery pack.

The third-generation Nio ES8 entered China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology regulatory filing catalog in June, showing that it is larger than its predecessor.

The SUV, available in six- and seven-seat configurations, measures 5,280 mm in length, 2,010 mm in width, and 1,800 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,250 mm.

Its predecessor measured 5,099 mm in length, 1,989 mm in width, and 1,750 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,070 mm.

The model, Nio's current flagship SUV, may see its position replaced by the higher-end ES9.

Nio planned to launch its new flagship SUV, the ES9, in the first half of 2026, according to its co-founder and president Qin Lihong at a user meetup event in Shenzhen on May 30.

($1 = RMB 7.1898)