NIO ES8: range, price, specs and where it is sold
Facts checked
The ES8 is NIO's large three-row SUV and the car the company launched with. Three generations share the name: the original of 2018, a second generation from 2023 that is sold in Europe as the EL8, and a third generation launched in China in 2025 on the NT 3.0 platform. The European EL8 name comes from the same January 2023 Munich Regional Court ruling that turned the ES6 into the EL6.
The third-generation car is 5,280 mm long on a 3,130 mm wheelbase and carries a 102 kWh CATL pack; NIO's own model page quotes 630 km on the CLTC cycle and a 3.9-second 0–100 km/h time, while reporting on the China launch puts the range at 635–655 km. It is sold in six- and seven-seat layouts. Prices start at 406,800 CNY, or 298,800 CNY with the battery rented.
Europe has not yet received the third generation: the EL8 on sale in Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark is the second-generation car, which is 5,099 mm long on a 3,070 mm wheelbase. The five-star Euro NCAP rating attached to the model dates from a 2021 test of a six-seat first-generation ES8.
Key facts
| Name in Chinese | 蔚来ES8 “way-LYE E-S-eight” 蔚来 Wèilái is NIO's Chinese name, a near-homophone of 未来 wèilái 'future'. ES8 is a model code: E for electric, S for the SUV line. |
|---|---|
| Brand | NIO |
| Body | SUV, segment E |
| Powertrain | Battery-electric |
| Launched | China 2018; export 2021 |
| Platform | NT 3.0 (third generation, 2025) |
| Headline output | 520 kW |
| Battery | 102 kWh |
| Dimensions | 5,280 × 2,010 × 1,800 mm, wheelbase 3,130 mm |
What it is called where
The same car carries different names in different markets. This is the crosswalk, so a reader who knows one name can find the other.
| Market | Name | Note |
|---|---|---|
| China | 蔚来ES8 / NIO ES8 | |
| European Union | EL8 | renamed for Europe after the January 2023 Munich Regional Court ruling in Audi's favour over the S8 trademark |
| Export markets | ES8 |
Range
| Range | Cycle | Variant |
|---|---|---|
| 630 km CLTC | CLTC | 102 kWh long-range pack, figure published on NIO's global model page |
| 655 km CLTC | CLTC | 102 kWh, upper end of the 635–655 km band reported for the third-generation China car |
Price
| Where | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| China | CNY 406,800 as of | start of the third-generation range of 406,800–446,800 CNY; 298,800–338,800 CNY with the battery rented under Battery as a Service |
A Chinese sticker price is not what the same car costs abroad: tariffs, specification and local taxes all differ. The price translator converts it at a stored rate and says so.
Where the ES8 is sold
| Market | Status | Since | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | Sold | 2018 | |
| Norway | Sold | 30 September 2021 | sold as the EL8; NIO's first market outside China |
| Germany | Sold | October 2022 | sold as the EL8 |
| Netherlands | Sold | October 2022 | sold as the EL8 |
| Sweden | Sold | November 2022 | sold as the EL8 |
| Denmark | Sold | November 2022 | sold as the EL8 |
| United States | Never sold | NIO has never sold vehicles to the public in the United States. |
Crash-test results
Quoted from the testing bodies. This site does not rate cars itself.
| Body | Year | Stars | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro NCAP | 2021 | 5 | Read the Euro NCAP result |
NIO ES8: questions people ask
- What is the NIO ES8 called in Europe?
- The EL8. NIO renamed the ES8 for Europe after the Munich Regional Court ruled in January 2023 that the name infringed Audi's S8 trademark.
- How many generations of NIO ES8 are there?
- Three: the 2018 original, a second generation from 2023 that Europe knows as the EL8, and a third generation launched in China in 2025 on the NT 3.0 platform.
- How much does the new NIO ES8 cost in China?
- The third-generation car is priced from 406,800 to 446,800 CNY, or from 298,800 CNY if the battery is rented monthly under Battery as a Service.
- Is the NIO ES8 sold in the United States?
- No. NIO has never sold vehicles to the public in the United States.
Related
Sources for the NIO ES8
- NIO Inc., NIO ES8: Innovate to New Horizons. Read . official model page; 102 kWh pack, 630 km CLTC, six- and seven-seat layouts
- Euro NCAP, NIO ES8 — Euro NCAP safety rating. Read . 2021 test of the six-seat ES8, five stars
- NIO Inc., NIO Norge — modellutvalg. Read . confirms the EL8 is sold in Norway
- Wikipedia, Nio ES8. Read . finding aid: generations, third-generation dimensions and prices, second-generation dimensions, EL8 naming