China EV start-up Nio to sell mass-production car next year

Chinese electric vehicle start-up Nio will start selling its first mass-production vehicle next year, the firm said in a statement on Wednesday, as it unveiled its ES8 SUV car at the Shanghai auto show.

Nio, formerly known as NextEV, is among the first of a raft of Chinese electric vehicle startups to launch a production vehicle, with many so far only showing concept cars.

The Chinese auto market has been flooded with electric vehicle start-ups in recent years after Beijing opened the sector to technology and venture capital (VC) investment. Nio is backed by Chinese technology giants Tencent Holdings <0700.HK> and Baidu Inc as well as Silicon Valley investors.

The company said it would also sell 10 EP9 electric "super cars" for $1.48 million without offering a timeline.

(Reporting by Jake Spring; Writing by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Joseph Radford)