• Nio CEO William Li revealed the plan during an offline Q&A session, marking the first time Nio management has mentioned such a specific timeline.
• The ES9 will be larger than the third-generation ES8 and is expected to incorporate some of the same technologies found in the ET9 sedan.

Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) will unveil the ES9, a flagship SUV (sport utility vehicle) larger than the ES8, in the second quarter of 2026.

Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li disclosed the plan during an offline Q&A event, according to a video shared today on Weibo by automotive blogger @兄弟电动, marking the first time Nio management has mentioned such a specific timeline.

He did not specify whether the ES9 would officially be officially launched in the second quarter of next year. Some attendees suggested Nio first hold a technology event for the model, similar to the ES8's approach, before its formal rollout.

The electric vehicle (EV) maker's co-founder and president, Qin Lihong, mentioned during a user meetup event in Shenzhen in May that the ES9 would be launched in the first half of 2026, marking the first time Nio management had referenced the model.

Li reiterated at the latest event that production capacity for the new ES8 would reach 15,000 units by December, with customers ordering the model now facing delivery dates as late as April 2026.

Nio officially launched the third-generation ES8 at Nio Day 2025 on September 20, with deliveries commencing the following day on September 21.

The ES8 delivered 2,803 units in September -- its highest monthly figure since January 2019 -- making it Nio brand's third-best-selling model, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.

As Nio's first mass-produced vehicle and current flagship SUV, the ES8's flagship position will be replaced by the ES9.

Last month, spy photos of the ES9 shared by multiple automotive bloggers on Weibo revealed the SUV appears larger than the third-generation ES8 parked alongside it.

Measuring 5,280 mm in length, 2,010 mm in width, and 1,800 mm in height with a 3,250 mm wheelbase, the third-generation ES8 is already the largest pure-electric SUV currently available in the Chinese market.

The inclusion of the number 9 in the ES9's name suggests the SUV may adopt some technologies shared with Nio's executive flagship sedan, the ET9.

These could include the SkyRide intelligent chassis system and two Shenji NX9031 smart driving chips developed by Nio in-house.

The ET9 currently starts at RMB 768,000 ($107,840) in China, which is one of the most expensive models from a domestic brand.

($1 = RMB 7.1216)