Quick Takeaways
- Nio World Model driver assistance advances with a new software rollout focused on more natural, human-like driving.
- The update expands pilot-assisted driving to urban battery swap stations across China.
Nio Inc has started rolling out the latest version of its Nio World Model driver assistance software to vehicles in China, saying the upgrade delivers a more human-like and efficient driving experience. The update represents the company’s second major enhancement to the Nio World Model driver assistance platform since late May 2025.
Nio said the phased deployment ensures stability while expanding advanced features across its vehicle lineup.
Vehicle platforms and hardware supporting Nio World Model driver assistance
The Banyan system underpins Nio vehicles built on the NT 2.0 platform and uses four Nvidia Orin X autonomous driving chips to process complex driving scenarios. This hardware configuration enables high-speed data processing required for advanced driver assistance and piloted driving functions.
The Cedar system powers the Nio ET9 sedan and the third-generation Nio ES8 SUV, while the Cedar S system is used in the 2025 model year ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5 Touring. These vehicles are equipped with Nio’s in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, supporting the latest Nio World Model driver assistance capabilities.
Full closed-loop reinforcement learning and driving experience upgrades
According to Nio, this update marks China’s first application of full closed-loop reinforcement learning in smart driving development. The updated Nio World Model driver assistance software achieves comprehensive modeling of both urban and highway piloted driving, improving reassurance, smoothness, and overall efficiency.
The company said the upgrade also enhances intelligent parking assistance and active safety functions, refining how vehicles respond to real-world conditions and user inputs. These improvements are designed to make assisted driving feel more natural and predictable for everyday use.
Pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations
A key addition in the latest Nio World Model driver assistance update is pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations. Nio said this is the industry’s first smart driving feature to cover urban energy replenishment scenarios within a unified assisted driving experience.
It integrates seamlessly with existing urban piloted driving functions, allowing vehicles to navigate complex city routes while factoring in energy replenishment needs.
World model architecture and data-driven training approach
Ren Shaoqing, head of smart driving at Nio, introduced the Nio World Model at the Nio IN 2024 Tech Day on July 27, 2024, describing it as the world’s first smart driving world model. The system can simulate 216 potential driving scenarios within 100 milliseconds to determine optimal decisions.
In the latest update, model training no longer depends on costly expert-labeled data. Instead, it efficiently leverages massive volumes of real human driving data. Through continuous feedback mechanisms, Nio said the system achieves both human-like reassurance and human-like efficiency in assisted driving.
Next phase of Nio World Model driver assistance development
Nio said the update signals a new phase in its smart driving development strategy.
- The rollout initially covers more than 460,000 vehicles equipped with the Banyan system, with models running the Cedar and Cedar S systems scheduled to receive the update shortly.
Nio said the phased deployment ensures stability while expanding advanced features across its vehicle lineup.
Vehicle platforms and hardware supporting Nio World Model driver assistance
The Banyan system underpins Nio vehicles built on the NT 2.0 platform and uses four Nvidia Orin X autonomous driving chips to process complex driving scenarios. This hardware configuration enables high-speed data processing required for advanced driver assistance and piloted driving functions.
The Cedar system powers the Nio ET9 sedan and the third-generation Nio ES8 SUV, while the Cedar S system is used in the 2025 model year ES6, EC6, ET5, and ET5 Touring. These vehicles are equipped with Nio’s in-house developed Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip, supporting the latest Nio World Model driver assistance capabilities.
Full closed-loop reinforcement learning and driving experience upgrades
According to Nio, this update marks China’s first application of full closed-loop reinforcement learning in smart driving development. The updated Nio World Model driver assistance software achieves comprehensive modeling of both urban and highway piloted driving, improving reassurance, smoothness, and overall efficiency.
The company said the upgrade also enhances intelligent parking assistance and active safety functions, refining how vehicles respond to real-world conditions and user inputs. These improvements are designed to make assisted driving feel more natural and predictable for everyday use.
Pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations
A key addition in the latest Nio World Model driver assistance update is pilot-assisted driving between urban battery swap stations. Nio said this is the industry’s first smart driving feature to cover urban energy replenishment scenarios within a unified assisted driving experience.
- The feature currently supports more than 2,000 second-generation and newer urban battery swap stations.
It integrates seamlessly with existing urban piloted driving functions, allowing vehicles to navigate complex city routes while factoring in energy replenishment needs.
World model architecture and data-driven training approach
Ren Shaoqing, head of smart driving at Nio, introduced the Nio World Model at the Nio IN 2024 Tech Day on July 27, 2024, describing it as the world’s first smart driving world model. The system can simulate 216 potential driving scenarios within 100 milliseconds to determine optimal decisions.
In the latest update, model training no longer depends on costly expert-labeled data. Instead, it efficiently leverages massive volumes of real human driving data. Through continuous feedback mechanisms, Nio said the system achieves both human-like reassurance and human-like efficiency in assisted driving.
Next phase of Nio World Model driver assistance development
Nio said the update signals a new phase in its smart driving development strategy.
- Looking ahead to 2026, the company plans to increase investment in cloud-based training computing power and accelerate feature iteration using a new technical architecture and R&D paradigm.
Company Press Release
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