Onvo has officially launched the L90 flagship SUV (sport utility vehicle), with its aggressive pricing positioning the model as a game-changer for Nio Inc.

NIO‘s U.S.-listed shares rose 8% on the news.

The Nio sub-brand targeting the family car market officially rolled out the L90 at an event held today in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, with a starting price of RMB 265,800 ($36,940) including an 85-kWh battery pack.

This represents a further reduction of RMB 14,100, or 5.04 percent, from the model's previously competitive pre-sales starting price of RMB 279,900.

Under the BaaS (battery as a service) battery rental scheme, the starting price for the Onvo L90 is RMB 179,800 yuan, with a monthly battery rental fee of RMB 899 yuan.

The aggressive pricing clearly reflects Nio's high hopes for the model, especially for achieving its profitability target.

The company has emphasized several times this year that its goal is to achieve its first quarterly profit in the fourth quarter of this year.

All of Nio's efforts are currently focused on laying the groundwork for this goal to prove the viability of its business model, and the L90, as a new model with the potential to generate significant sales, is key to this.

Even with such aggressive pricing, Nio's management believes that the L90 will still generate gross profit.

The pricing for the L90 is appropriate because Nio has established cost targets in collaboration with its partners, the company said on July 11 in Hefei, Anhui province, the day after its pre-sales event, to media including CnEVPost.

Nio Onvo launches L90 flagship SUV with make-or-break pricing

Six-seat and seven-seat options

Onvo did not achieve the expected results with its first model, the L60 mid-size SUV, and the lessons learned have been applied to better sell the L90.

The L90 is available in six-seat and seven-seat versions, targeting the widest possible range of potential family users.

Deliveries of the six-seat L90 will begin on August 1, while the seven-seat version will start deliveries in late September.

Nio Onvo launches L90 flagship SUV with make-or-break pricing

The Onvo L90 is a large SUV with dimensions of 5,145 mm in length, 1,998 mm in width, and 1,786 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,110 mm.

For comparison, the Li L9 extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) from Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) measures 5,218 mm in length, 1,998 mm in width, and 1,800 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,105 mm.