Nio applied for homologation of a slightly refreshed 2025 ET5 sedan, ET5 Touring, the best-selling SUV ES6, and EC6, revealing the design changes. William Li, company CEO, previously said that the interior will also be updated, mainly the screen area.
Every car must be approved by a regulator under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to obtain a sales license in China. The ministry publishes a list of all applicants every month, with basic photos and specs. Automakers are not happy about this because it reveals some of their secrets, but we donβt mind.
All refreshed Nio cars will have the same drivetrain, battery options, and other core specs, as the cars were listed not in the main MIIT catalog but in the side catalog for minor refreshes.
The front of the ET5, or its estate variant, ET5 Touring, was slightly changed, especially the front bumper and headlights. The area around daytime running and fog lights was changed from a triangular shape to something looking like a top-slanted rectangle.
All listed models have the Champion Edition badge on the rear. This is nothing new in China. BYD previously used theΒ Champion Edition labelΒ for its 2024 annual model updates, which were cheaper than the 2023 models. We can assume Nio will use this badge to distinguish 2025 models from the previous yearβs lineup.
The design changes are minor and are rather a slight refresh than a regular facelift. The four models to receive the refresh are also Nioβs four best-selling EVs.
Editorβs comment
In China, it is always important to pay attention to what was said and what wasnβt. Nioβs former flagship SUV, the ES8, the ET7 flagship sedan, the EC7 SUV, and the ES7 were not listed for a refresh. William Li also previously announced that the company will launch a βfaceliftedβ model every quarter from Q2 onwards, saying that ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, and EC6 will be updated. He said nothing about ES8, ET7, EC7, or ES7.
And that is not a surprise; those models are long-term sales losers for the Shanghai-based automaker. Nio ES7 sold only 330 units in China in January, EC7 110 units, ET7 239 units, and ES8 446 units.
Nioβs first mass-produced car and once a motor behind its sales, ES8, sold 9,188 units in 2024, down 35% from 2023. Nio ES7 sold only 1,874 units in 2024, down 71.3% from 2023.
Nio ES7 sales are low in the long term, and Nio faced criticism for having too many models in its lineup. If I have to guess, Nio is considering discontinuing ES7, and 2025 is the last year we see ES7 on the market. This is a good thing. With ES6 selling well and Onvo L60 ramping up, there is no space for a model that offers almost the same for a higher price, as we already mentioned last year.
