NIO adds new Signature Edition trim of the ET9 after Limited Edition sells out in 12 hours
It’s only been five days since NIO officially launched its top-tier luxury sedan, the ET9, but the early buzz in China has been encouraging. The BEV will launch in 2025, beginning with a Limited Edition trim that sold out in the first 12 hours, so NIO has introduced another limited production run called the ET9 Signature Edition.
The new ET9 sedan was launched on December 21, during NIO Day 2024. The launch presentation included our first look at the ET9 inside and out. During that time, NIO confirmed that the ET9 starts at an MSRP of RMB 788,000 ($108,000), including the battery, slightly lower than the RMB 800,000 presale price announced during the model’s unveiling at NIO Day 2023.
The NIO ET9’s standard trim costs $108k, but the automaker will also sell a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS )version that starts at RMB 660,000 ($90,420). Owners pay a monthly battery rental fee of RMB 1,128 ($155).
During the event, NIO debuted a Limited Edition launch trim of the ET9 with a starting price of RMB 818,000 ($112,065), which includes the battery. At the time, the Chinese automaker said it would only build 999 units of the limited edition ET9, and according to media outlet CnEVPost, all of them had been spoken for, exceeding sales expectations.
To appease Chinese customers who missed out on the 999 Limited Edition ET9s, NIO has added a new Signature Edition, which is slightly lower priced but with some unique features.
NIO ET9 Signature Edition arrives for $110,700
As pointed out by CnEVPost, NIO announced the new Signature Edition ET9 on its mobile app earlier today. The Signature Edition is priced at RMB 808,000 ($110,700). That’s RMB 20,000 ($2,750) more than the Standard Edition trim and RMB 10,000 ($1,370) less than the Limited Edition NIO says sold out in under 12 hours.
According to the announcement, NIO introduced the new Signature Edition after receiving an influx of inquiries from Chinese consumers interested in purchasing one of the 999 Limited Edition trims after they had already sold out.
For the extra RMB 20,000 compared to the standard ET9, the automaker says the Signature Edition features exclusive logos, complimentary 23-inch premium wheels, free NOMI Mate 3.0, and other features. The Signature Edition ET9 is now available for order in the NIO app and currently shows a delivery wait time of 13 to 16 weeks, the same as the standard trim.
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DAHON, a leading global folding bike manufacturer, is entering a new chapter, this time with a public market twist. The company’s tech subsidiary, DAHON TECH, officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today, marking a major milestone for the 40-year-old folding bike pioneer.
It is exceedingly rare for bicycle companies to reach the point of an IPO, which among other things, helps give us more insight into the inner workings and financial standing of major manufacturers of two-wheelers. Of course, from the company’s perspective, a public offering is a great chance to raise additional funding.
In this case though, it appears to be about even more than that. At the bell-ringing ceremony, DAHON founder and chairman Dr. David Hon emphasized that the listing isn’t just about capital, but about fueling innovation and expanding the company’s reach. “We will leverage this listing as an opportunity to seize trends, deepen our presence in the Chinese and international markets, and deliver sustainable returns to our investors,” he told the audience.
Investors certainly seem to agree. DAHON’s IPO was oversubscribed by more than 7,500 times, described as one of the hottest “super subscription” listings in Hong Kong this year. Heavy hitters like Allianz Global Investors and the Greater Bay Area Development Fund lined up as cornerstone investors, pouring nearly $128 million into the company.
That kind of enthusiasm is backed by solid numbers. In 2024, DAHON sold over 229,000 folding bikes, a 46% jump from the year before, pulling in around 450 million RMB in revenue (US $63 million) with profits topping 52 million RMB (US $7.2 million. The momentum has continued into 2025, with revenue up 69% year-over-year in the first four months alone.
A big part of the company’s value appears to come from its obsession over innovation versus replication. Dahon boasts over 135 active patents, long definining the technology in folding bikes. Its latest “DAHON-V” tech suite aims to improve performance across categories, even allowing some of its fastest folding bikes to rival carbon road bikes. The company has also begun licensing its innovations to other brands, spreading its influence across the industry.
Looking forward, DAHON is expanding beyond its bread-and-butter folders. The company has already added road bikes and is now making moves into electric bicycles and even light electric motorbikes, pairing its folding expertise with electrification to target a new wave of green mobility.
Production is also ramping up. A new Tianjin factory is already online, while another large facility is set to open in 2027 with capacity for 200,000 additional units per year. The brand’s distribution footprint now spans 680 retail outlets in China and 28 countries abroad, with e-commerce sales growing at triple-digit rates.
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Mercedes-Benz is calling the new battery tech “a true gamechanger” after hitting a new benchmark. A Mercedes EQS, powered by solid-state batteries, traveled 750 miles without stopping, and it still had some energy left to spare.
Mercedes solid-state EV batteries hit 750 miles range
In February, Mercedes claimed it put “the first car powered by a lithium-metal solid-state battery on the road” using a slightly modified EQS.
Mercedes said the vehicle could achieve a real-world driving range of more than 620 miles. Well, according to its latest test, it can travel much further than expected.
After a lightly modified EQS, equipped with solid-state batteries, drove nearly 750 miles (1,205 km) on a single charge, Mercedes’ tech boss, Markus Schäfer, is calling the new EV battery tech a “gamechanger” for electric vehicles.
“The solid-state battery is a true gamechanger for electric mobility,” Schäfer said. He added that the new battery tech “delivers not only in the lab but also on the road.”
After traveling from Stuttgart, Germany, to Malmö, Sweden, covering 750 miles (1,205 km), the modified EV still had 85 miles of range remaining.
According to Mercedes, the usable energy of the solid-state battery was increased by 25%, while the weight and size were about the same as a standard EQS model.
Mercedes is developing its solid-state batteries in collaboration with its Formula 1 supplier, Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP).
The battery cells are from US-based Factorial Energy, which is also partnering with Hyundai, Stellantis, and other major OEMs to bring solid-state batteries to market. Mercedes confirmed it aims to bring solid-state batteries into series production by the end of the decade.
Mercedes is one of many, including Volkswagen, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Honda, and several others, looking to unlock the potential benefits of the “holy grail” of EV batteries. Leading battery makers, CATL and BYD, are also aiming to bring the new tech to market around 2027.
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U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright departs after speaking during a television interview outside of the White House on August 19, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has lambasted plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050, calling the climate target “a colossal train wreck” that countries will most likely fail to achieve.
His comments, which were first published as part of an interview with the Financial Times on Monday, come as Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum prepare to travel to Milan, Italy, for the Gastech energy conference.
“Net zero 2050 is just a colossal train wreck … It’s just a monstrous human impoverishment program and of course there is no way it is going to happen,” Wright said in remarks shared by the U.S. Department of Energy on social media platform X.
Net zero refers to the goal of achieving a state of balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed from it.
More than 140 countries, including major polluters such as the U.S., India and the European Union, have adopted plans to reach net zero by various timelines.
To meet the critically important warming threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius, as prescribed in the landmark Paris Agreement, global carbon emissions should reach net zero by around the middle of the century, according to the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit non-profit.
For high-income nations such as the U.S., this means reaching net zero by 2050 or earlier. Low-income countries can meanwhile achieve the feat by the 2050s or 2060s.
A former oil and gas executive, Wright has recognized climate change as a global challenge that “deserves attention,” while criticizing what he has described as “climate alarmists.”
Scientists, meanwhile, have challenged Wright’s comments on climate change, describing them as “a regurgitation of misinformative talking points.”
Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas, are the primary cause of climate change.
‘Not a matter of ideology’
The Trump administration official, who is scheduled to deliver an address on the U.S. vision for global energy security at Gastech on Wednesday, has reportedly warned that European climate rules could threaten the EU’s trade deal with the White House.
The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the world’s first carbon border levy, and the bloc’s regulation on methane were among some of the measures cited by Wright as potential risks to the U.S.-EU trade framework, according to the Financial Times.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, declined to comment.
Under the terms of the U.S.-EU trade pact, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described as a “good deal” when it was struck, the EU has said companies in the 27-nation bloc have expressed interest in investing at least $600 billion in various sectors by 2029.
The EU also intends to purchase U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), oil and nuclear energy products with an expected offtake valued at $750 billion over the next three years, seeking to replace Russian energy on the EU market.
Asked about Wright’s comments on net zero, the chief executive of French oil giant TotalEnergies said that, when you listen to the EU’s energy narrative, “it’s security of supply, it’s affordability and it’s sustainability.”
“Europe is importing fossil fuels so, for us, our dependency is a problem,” TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Tuesday.
“I think it is not a matter of ideology. It is a matter to be pragmatic on energy and honestly, it is true that in Europe, the narrative was very dominated by climate five years ago. Today, since the Russian war, listen to the European leaders: security of supply, affordability,” Pouyanne said.
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