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

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 

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.

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.

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.

The six-seat L90 offers three options -- Pro, Max, and Ultra -- with starting prices of RMB 265,800, RMB 279,800, and RMB 299,800, respectively, including an 85-kWh battery pack.

The seven-seat L90 also offers three options -- Pro, Max, and Ultra -- with starting prices of RMB 271,800, RMB 285,800, and RMB 299,800, respectively, including the 85-kWh battery pack.

The vehicle is built on a 900-volt high-voltage platform, which offers better energy efficiency and charging speed compared to conventional 400-volt platforms.

All Pro and Max variants are single-motor rear-wheel drive models with a peak power of 340 kWh and peak torque of 400 Nm, capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds.

The Ultra variants are dual-motor models with an additional front motor with peak power of 100 kW and peak torque of 135 Nm. Both Ultra variants can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds.

The L90 comes standard with an 85-kWh battery pack, unlike the L60, which comes standard with a smaller 60-kWh battery pack.

Like Nio's models, Onvo cars support battery swap, meaning the L90 has another ace up its sleeve -- it can further lower the entry barrier by offering a 60-kWh battery option, though that would mean lower range.

With the 85-kWh battery pack, the rear-wheel-drive version of the L90 has a CLTC range of 600 or 605 kilometers, while the all-wheel-drive version has a range of 570 kilometers.

This range is not outstanding in the highly competitive Chinese EV market, but Nio's battery swap network allows it to quickly obtain a fully charged battery in about three minutes.

As of today, Nio has 3,430 battery swap stations in China, with 1,000 located along highways.

Customers who purchase the L90 by August 31 will receive a 40 percent discount on certain optional features and five years of free NOA