NIO co-founder and president Qin Lihong says the range-extender wave that swept Chinese large SUVs is losing steam, and pure electric is set to take more than half the market as charging and battery tech cross a tipping point.
The numbers behind the shift
In the first half of 2026, passenger registrations in China fell about 20 per cent year on year even as nearly 500 new models launched, squeezing the average carmaker margin to 1.5 per cent, about 3,000 yuan on a 200,000 yuan car. Qin calls that “a mover in industry, not a maker of value.”
Yet structure is changing. In May, pure electric became the largest powertrain form in China at over 40 per cent. In the big three-row SUV class, the pure-electric to range-extender sales ratio swung from 1:23 in the first quarter of last year to about 1.06:1 this June, a flip Qin calls inevitable. NIO delivered close to 36,000 vehicles in July across NIO, Onvo and Firefly, up 71 per cent, with average selling prices held high: 443,000 yuan for NIO, 245,000 yuan for Onvo, 120,000 yuan for Firefly.
Why big SUV buyers are dropping the engine
Qin gives three reasons. First, space. A range extender packs a battery, engine, tank and exhaust under the floor, eating cabin room, while a high-voltage pure-electric platform frees a front trunk and a deep rear well. Onvo ships a 240 litre front trunk; NIO’s ES8 and ES9 carry about 200 litres.
Second, charging. Public charging points in 2025 were more than five times the 2020 count, and NIO’s swap network changed the feel of long trips. NIO users average only about 60 km a day, so a weekly charge covers most city use, and the energy cost gap with fuel can reach 8:1.
Third, the owners themselves. Qin notes most range-extender buyers return to pure electric on their next car, and many rarely use the tank. An engine and fuel system add 100 to 200 kg and about 20,000 yuan, paid by the buyer for a feature used once or twice a year.
The 20,000 to 30,000 yuan market
On the “Tesla, Li Auto, Xiaomi, Onvo” label for that segment, Qin says each brand earns its place. Tesla still competes hard on a years-old 400V platform, proof of brand pull worth studying. Onvo, priced 150,000 to 300,000 yuan, fights directly there. Qin expects pure electric to take that band fast, since Tesla and Onvo are battery, Li Auto’s volume there is the pure-electric i6, and Xiaomi’s early hits were battery too.
From May, pure electric led the whole China passenger market at over 40 per cent. Choosing a battery car is no longer a brave niche call, Qin argues, but a mainstream one.
More from the original report
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original LeiPhone report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://www.leiphone.com/latest/index/id/4762.