The electric vehicle industry has evolved from its early years when the most popular vehicles were compact or subcompact cars, such as the General Motors (GM) -) Chevy Bolt electric subcompact that hit the market in 2017. The Bolt was the second-best selling EV behind Tesla's Model S sedan at the time, but it wouldn't be long before sports utility vehicles and crossovers would dominate the market.
The popularity of crossovers and SUVs has led to Tesla's (TSLA) -) Model Y small crossover SUV overtaking the Toyota Corolla as the world's best-selling overall vehicle in the first quarter of 2023 with about 267,200 vehicles sold in the first three months of the year, ahead of Toyota (TM) -), which sold 256,400 Corolla units of its internal combustion engine vehicle.
Related: Stellantis unveils low-priced electric vehicles to rival Tesla
Crossovers and SUVs popular in EV market
Everywhere you look, automakers are launching another all-electric SUV or cross over. Hyundai's (HYMTF) -) affiliate Kia has a whole line of crossovers and SUVs on the market, including its Niro EV crossover, EV6 crossover, and EV9 SUVs. Fisker (FSR) -) has its Ocean SUV, and GM's Cadillac has the Lyriq and is launching its Escalade IQ SUV
China-based EV maker Nio began delivering its EC6 premium 5-seat electric sports utility coupe vehicle in September 2020 after debuting the vehicle at the Chengdu Motor Show in July 2020. In just four months, the EC6 became Nio's top selling EV with 2,505 sales, compared to 2,493 of its 5-seat ES6 premium smart electric SUV, and 2,009 of its ES8, the company's flagship 6- or 7-seat premium smart electric premium SUV in December 2020.
Nio's monthly sales volume has grown significantly since 2020, as it set a company record for monthly deliveries in July 2023 with 20,462, which include over 10,000 in sales of its all-new ES6 SUV, which debuted in May. The Hefei, China, automaker's deliveries slipped a little in August to 19,329, still an 81% increase year-over-year and a total of 94,352 for the year through August. The company's cumulative deliveries since its beginning reached 383,908.
Nio will deliver its refreshed EC6 SUV
Nio in April delivered its EC7 SUV to market just ahead of its all-new ES8 in June. Among Nio's eight models, the EC6 is the last to convert to the company's second generation NT 2.0 platform. Nio is now ready to launch its EC6 refresh on Sept. 15 with deliveries beginning the following day Sept. 16, Electrek reported. The EV will be available first in China, before making its way to Europe at some point. There's no word on if it will ever make it to the U.S.
The refreshed Nio EC6 will have new headlights, rear lights, new bumpers, new wheel arches, new mirrors, and a new hood, according to CarNewsChina. The current EC6 base Sports Edition has 435 hp, while the Performance edition has 544 hp, with a maximum range up to 382 miles. The Sport accelerates 0-62 mph in 5.4 seconds, while Performance can hit 62 mph in 4.5 seconds.
Nio has not said what the price or range of the new EC6 will be, but the first generation vehicle is priced $54,300 to $68,000, Electrek said. The company had opened preorders in China before its launch event Sept. 15.
