Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) is set to hand over the 20,000th unit of its flagship ES9 SUV this week, a milestone the company previewed just over ten weeks after the model's first customer deliveries began.Yang Bo, Nio's assistant vice president of user operations, announced the upcoming handover in a Weibo post on August 4, 2026, without specifying the exact delivery date. The ES9 launched in China on May 27, 2026, with deliveries starting the following day. The pace of the ramp has been notable. Nio delivered the first 10,000 ES9 units by June 26, a 30-day stretch the company says was the fastest climb to that mark for any pure-electric model priced above 500,000 CNY in China's passenger car market. The second batch of 10,000 will be delivered in roughly six weeks, indicating the flagship SUV has held its momentum well past the initial launch rush.Promotional image of the ES9 released ahead of its China launch (NIO)Monthly figures compiled from China Passenger Car Association data show the ES9 recording 3,108 deliveries in its first four days on the road in late May, followed by 8,595 in June. Order demand has continued to outstrip that pace: Deutsche Bank estimated in June that the ES9 had already collected more than 25,000 non-cancelable orders and lifted its full-year 2026 delivery forecast for the model to 56,000 units. Waiting times for higher-end trims, which once stretched to 16-17 weeks, have since eased slightly to 13-14 weeks.The ES9 is priced from 498,000 CNY (c. $73,340) to 628,000 CNY (c. $92,470) with the battery included. Under Nio's battery-as-a-service rental plan, entry pricing drops to a range of 390,000 CNY (c. $57,430) to 520,000 CNY (c. $76,570), positioning the model as one of the most expensive vehicles ever sold by a Chinese domestic brand. Measuring 5,365 mm long, 2,029 mm wide and 1,870 mm tall on a 3,250 mm wheelbase, the ES9 is marketed by Nio as the largest battery-electric SUV built in China. The flagship pairs a 900V architecture with a dual-motor setup producing 520 kW of peak power and 700 N·m of peak torque, enough for a 4.3-second 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) run. A 102 kWh long-range battery pack delivers up to 620 km (385 miles) of CLTC-rated range.ES9 pictured in Shantou's historic old port district (NIO)Higher trims add Nio's in-house Shenji NX9031 smart-driving chips alongside the SkyRide fully active suspension system. The SUV also comes standard with a steer-by-wire system and rear-wheel steering that brings the turning radius down to 5.4 meters, a setup Nio positions as the only steer-by-wire configuration currently reaching customers in mass production in China. Nio's self-developed six-piston brake calipers bring the car to a stop from 100 km/h in 35.3 meters, according to the company. In China's crowded premium SUV segment, the ES9 lines up against the Huawei-backed Aito M9, the Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) L9, and the Zeekr 9X, along with combustion-engine rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7 that have long dominated the six-figure luxury SUV bracket.The flagship's pricing power is showing up in Nio's financials. The average transaction price for the main Nio brand, lifted by the ES9 and the ES8 large SUV, reached 443,000 CNY (c. $65,240) in June and 434,600 CNY (c. $63,000) in July. Deutsche Bank expects Nio to reach non-GAAP breakeven in the second quarter on the strength of these higher-margin models. The ES8, which starts at 382,800 CNY, logged 10,286 deliveries in July, climbing back above the 10,000 mark after a slower stretch. Nio delivered 35,934 vehicles company-wide in July, up 70.98% year-on-year though down 11.49% from June. Across the first seven months of 2026, the automaker has delivered 227,057 vehicles, a 67.98% increase from the same period last year.Whether Nio can keep pace with ES9 demand through the rest of 2026, or whether delivery lead times start stretching again as order volume tests factory output, will say a lot about how durable this flagship push turns out to be.Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.7917 CNY as of August 3, 2026.