NIO’s new low-cost Onvo L60 EV shines in debut with +20,000 deliveries in just 100 days

NIO’s (NYSE: NIO) new electric SUV already looks like a hit. In just 100 days since launching, NIO Onvo L60 deliveries reached over 20,000 as the EV maker taps into the mass market.

NIO Onvo L60 deliveries surge in market debut

It’s been almost three months since NIO launched its more affordable Onvo sub-brand in September. The first model to wear the Onvo badge, the L60 electric SUV, is already making a significant impact.

In a social media post on Friday, NIO Onvo announced it took just 100 days for L60 deliveries to reach 20,000 cumulatively. In its first full sales month, over 4,300 L60 models were sold, or roughly one-fifth of NIO’s total sales in October.

With a starting price of around $21,000 (149,900 yuan), NIO’s new electric SUV undercuts many rivals, including Tesla’s top-selling Model Y, which starts at around $35,000 (249,900 yuan) in China.

The $21K price tag is for the battery rental model, which includes an additional $85 (599 yuan) or $125 (899 yuan) per month, depending on the size. However, even with the battery, you can still buy the L60 for cheaper at around $29,000 (206,900 yuan).

With 832 L60 deliveries in September, 4,319 in October, and another 5,082 last month, NIO delivered 10,233 through November. That means at least 9,767 L60 models were delivered in December.

NIO appears to be on track to hit its goal of delivering over 10,000 units this month. The company said L60 production is expected to double from 10,000 units in December to 20,000 by March 2025.

This week, the L60 also completed its first long-range cold weather test. In energy-saving mode, the electric SUV drove for 7 hours and 9 minutes across highways and roads in China. During the test, the L60 achieved an average energy consumption of just 21.0 kWh/100 km in “extreme cold conditions.”

NIO’s Onvo electric SUV is 4,828 mm long, 1,930 mm wide, and 1,616 mm tall, or about the same size as the Tesla Model Y at 4,750 mm long x 1,921 mm wide x 1,624 mm tall.

Earlier this month, we learned NIO will launch the L60 in its first European market in early 2025. Eric Yu, Onvo’s VP of products, told Automotive News Europe that the L60 will first debut in the UK.

Unlike the EU, the UK is not imposing additional tariffs on Chinese EV imports. In the EU, NIO, including Onvo, faces a 31% import tariff.

NIO president Qin Lihong said in an interview with Chinese media CGTN (via CnEVPost) that the EV maker aims to “expand to up to 25 different countries and regions” by the end of 2025. Onvo will begin exporting L60 models once production hits 30,000 per month, which is expected early next year.