Quick Takeaways
- Nio NWM driver assistance update strengthens human-like smart driving across China.
- The update expands urban pilot driving and battery swap station navigation.
This marks Nio’s second major upgrade to its smart driving stack as the Nio NWM driver assistance update begins rolling out to vehicles in China, aiming to deliver a more human-like driving experience. Nio Inc said the deployment started on Wednesday, covering a large portion of its active vehicle fleet.
The update is initially available to more than 460,000 vehicles running the Banyan system. Nio confirmed that models equipped with the Cedar and Cedar S systems will also receive the latest NWM software in the near term, expanding coverage across its newer product lineup.
Nio NWM Driver Assistance Update Across Vehicle Platforms
The Banyan system underpins Nio vehicles built on the NT 2.0 platform and uses four Nvidia Orin X autonomous driving chips. The Cedar system powers the Nio ET9 sedan and the third-generation ES8 SUV, while the Cedar S system is deployed on the 2025 ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5 Touring.
Vehicles using the Cedar and Cedar S systems are equipped with Nio’s in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, enabling more advanced processing for smart driving, active safety, and intelligent parking functions introduced with the latest update.
Smart Driving Capabilities and Learning Architecture
This is Nio’s second major NWM software update since late May 2025. The company stated that the release represents China’s first application of full closed-loop reinforcement learning in smart driving development, covering both urban and highway piloted driving scenarios.
According to Nio, the updated system improves reassurance and efficiency by modeling complex traffic conditions and driving behaviors. Enhancements also extend to intelligent parking assistance and active safety, improving both technical performance and user experience.
Urban Battery Swap Station Pilot Driving
A key addition in the latest NWM version is pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations. Nio said this is the industry’s first smart driving feature designed specifically for urban energy replenishment scenarios.
The function supports more than 2,000 second-generation and newer urban battery swap stations. It integrates seamlessly with existing urban piloted driving capabilities, allowing vehicles to navigate efficiently between stations in dense city environments.
World Model Vision and Future Roadmap
Ren Shaoqing, head of smart driving at Nio, unveiled the Nio World Model at the Nio IN 2024 Tech Day event on July 27, 2024, describing it as the world’s first smart driving world model. The system can simulate 216 potential scenarios within 100 milliseconds to determine optimal driving decisions.
In the latest update, Nio said model training no longer depends on expensive expert-labeled data. Instead, it leverages large-scale human driving data and feedback mechanisms to achieve both human-like reassurance and efficiency, marking a new phase in its smart driving development.
Looking ahead, Nio said it will increase investment in cloud-based training computing power in 2026 and accelerate feature iteration using a new technical architecture and R&D paradigm to further advance its smart driving capabilities.
The update is initially available to more than 460,000 vehicles running the Banyan system. Nio confirmed that models equipped with the Cedar and Cedar S systems will also receive the latest NWM software in the near term, expanding coverage across its newer product lineup.
Nio NWM Driver Assistance Update Across Vehicle Platforms
The Banyan system underpins Nio vehicles built on the NT 2.0 platform and uses four Nvidia Orin X autonomous driving chips. The Cedar system powers the Nio ET9 sedan and the third-generation ES8 SUV, while the Cedar S system is deployed on the 2025 ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5 Touring.
Vehicles using the Cedar and Cedar S systems are equipped with Nio’s in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, enabling more advanced processing for smart driving, active safety, and intelligent parking functions introduced with the latest update.
Smart Driving Capabilities and Learning Architecture
This is Nio’s second major NWM software update since late May 2025. The company stated that the release represents China’s first application of full closed-loop reinforcement learning in smart driving development, covering both urban and highway piloted driving scenarios.
According to Nio, the updated system improves reassurance and efficiency by modeling complex traffic conditions and driving behaviors. Enhancements also extend to intelligent parking assistance and active safety, improving both technical performance and user experience.
Urban Battery Swap Station Pilot Driving
A key addition in the latest NWM version is pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations. Nio said this is the industry’s first smart driving feature designed specifically for urban energy replenishment scenarios.
The function supports more than 2,000 second-generation and newer urban battery swap stations. It integrates seamlessly with existing urban piloted driving capabilities, allowing vehicles to navigate efficiently between stations in dense city environments.
World Model Vision and Future Roadmap
Ren Shaoqing, head of smart driving at Nio, unveiled the Nio World Model at the Nio IN 2024 Tech Day event on July 27, 2024, describing it as the world’s first smart driving world model. The system can simulate 216 potential scenarios within 100 milliseconds to determine optimal driving decisions.
In the latest update, Nio said model training no longer depends on expensive expert-labeled data. Instead, it leverages large-scale human driving data and feedback mechanisms to achieve both human-like reassurance and efficiency, marking a new phase in its smart driving development.
Looking ahead, Nio said it will increase investment in cloud-based training computing power in 2026 and accelerate feature iteration using a new technical architecture and R&D paradigm to further advance its smart driving capabilities.
Company Press Release
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