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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - 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 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.