{"id":777030,"date":"2026-02-20T11:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/777030\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:52:13","slug":"nio-offers-risk-free-trial-of-its-et7-sedan-in-germany-as-sales-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/777030\/","title":{"rendered":"Nio Offers Risk-Free Trial of Its ET7 Sedan in Germany as Sales Collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chinese EV maker Nio<\/a> is offering German customers a six-month trial of its ET7 executive sedan with a full money-back purchase option.<\/p>\n

The company founded and led by Willaim Li seeks to revive demand in Europe\u2019s largest auto market after registering just one vehicle there in January.<\/a><\/p>\n

The promotion, called \u201cTry & Buy,\u201d allows customers to drive the ET7 for six months \u2014 half the standard 12-month subscription minimum \u2014 with a one-time upfront payment of \u20ac4,500 ($5,300). <\/p>\n

At the end of the trial, customers can either return the vehicle or buy it, with the full prepayment credited toward the purchase price.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith NIO\u2019s exclusive Try & Buy promotion, you can drive the ET7 for 6 months \u2014 instead of the standard 12-month minimum term \u2014 through a flexible subscription model that includes a full purchase option and maximum peace of mind,\u201d the company wrote in a marketing email sent to its German subscriber base this week.<\/p>\n

The subscription includes insurance, maintenance, wear-and-tear repairs, seasonal tires, and access to Nio\u2019s battery swap network in Germany, where the company operates twenty battery swap stations that can replace a depleted battery in about three to four minutes.<\/p>\n

Last June, Nio<\/a> introduced a similar flexible subscription offer \u2014 also allowing a six-month exit from the standard 12-month contract \u2014 for the ET5, ET7, and EL7. <\/p>\n

The new Try & Buy, however, adds a one-time upfront payment and a full purchase credit, signaling a shift toward converting subscribers into buyers.<\/p>\n

Nio ET7<\/p>\n

The company entered Germany in October 2022 with the ET7 as its first European model of the second generation vehicle platform.<\/p>\n

The sedan was unveiled at the company\u2019s annual event in January 2021 as shares were trading at their all time high above $60. <\/p>\n

Nio<\/a> initially offered vehicles exclusively through a subscription plan. It later added purchase options after customer feedback.<\/p>\n

The ET7, Nio<\/a>\u2018s 5.1-meter executive sedan with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain producing 480 kW, was positioned to compete directly with the local rivals Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7 rather than with Tesla<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weakest Month in 3 Years<\/p>\n

The promotion comes as Nio<\/a> faces its worst stretch of sales in Germany since entering the market in late 2022.<\/p>\n

In January, the company registered just one vehicle in the country<\/a>, according to data published on Wednesday by the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).<\/p>\n

The figure matched January 2023, when Nio<\/a> had only been selling in Germany for three months.<\/p>\n

The result represented a steep decline from the 18 units registered in January 2025 and from the two-year high of 89 vehicles sold in December \u2014 which had marked the first sequential increase in five months. <\/p>\n

For the full year 2025, Nio<\/a> sold 325 vehicles in Germany, an 18.3% decline from the prior year, even as the broader German EV market grew 23.4%.<\/p>\n

The struggles are not limited to Germany. <\/p>\n

Last month, Nio<\/a> posted its weakest Norway sales month in three years, despite having begun deliveries of its cheaper Firefly sub-brand there last August.<\/a> <\/p>\n

In Sweden, where the company had registered 60 units in December, sales fell to zero in January.<\/p>\n

Clearing Old Inventory<\/p>\n

The ET7-focused Try & Buy offer appears designed to help the company move aging inventory in Europe.<\/p>\n

Nio<\/a> currently lets German customers configure the ET5 Touring, EL6, and EL8 SUVs, priced from \u20ac47,500 ($56,100), \u20ac53,500 ($63,200), and \u20ac82,900 ($98,000), respectively. <\/p>\n

These models were refreshed in China in 2025, and further upgrades have been promised for 2027. <\/p>\n

However, the company is still selling vehicles produced in 2023 and 2024 across Europe as it struggles to dispatch inventory.<\/p>\n

The Try & Buy promotion is the latest in a series of incentives Nio<\/a> has rolled out in Germany over the past year. <\/p>\n

Late last year, the company extended a 0% financing offer to the EL6, having previously made it available for the ET5, ET5 Touring, and EL8. <\/p>\n

Rivals Gaining Ground<\/p>\n

Nio<\/a>\u2018s difficulties stand in contrast to the momentum other Chinese automakers are building in Germany.<\/p>\n

Overall passenger vehicle sales in the country declined 6.6% year-over-year in January to 193,981 units, but EV registrations rose 23.4%, with battery electric vehicles accounting for 42,692 of total sales and a 22.0% market share \u2014 up from 19.1% in December.<\/p>\n

BYD<\/a>, the Chinese giant offering both hybrid and fully electric models, had its fifth strongest month in Germany in January, with registrations surging over 1,000% year-over-year. <\/p>\n

The company had already seen sales rise eightfold in 2025, surpassing 23,000 vehicles for the year.<\/p>\n

XPeng<\/a>, which entered Germany in 2024, saw its sales jump sevenfold last year and registered over 320 units in January.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chinese EV maker Nio is offering German customers a six-month trial of its ET7 executive sedan with a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":777031,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,1824],"class_list":{"0":"post-777030","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-germany"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116102820364572630","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}