Refreshed 2025 Nio ET5 Champion Edition revealed in China, ES7 close to being discontinued

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.

To obtain a sales license in China, every car must be approved by a regulator under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). The ministry published the list of all applicants every month, with basic photos and specs. Automakers are not very happy as it reveals some of their secrets, but we don’t 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 Tourin,g 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 the Champion Edition label for its 2024 annual model updates. So, we can assume Nio will use this badge to distinguish 2025 models from the previous year’s lineup.

The design changes are so minor that it is rather a slight refresh than a regular facelift. The four models to receive the refresh are also Nio’s four best-selling EVs.

Editor’s comment

In China, it is always important to pay attention not only to what was said, but to what wasn’t. Nio former flagship SUV ES8, ET7 flagship sedan, EC7 SUV and ES7 were not listed for facelift. William Li also previously announced that company will launch “facelifted” model every quarter from Q2 onwards, saying that ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6 and EC6 will be updated. He didn’t mention ES8, ET7, EC7 neither ES7.

And that is not a surprise; those models are long-term sales losers for Shanghai-based customers. Nio ES7 sold only 330 units in China in January, EC7 110 units, ET7 239 units, and ES8 446 units.

Nio’s 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.