EV Maker NIO’s Q1 Results Show Narrowed Losses, Eyeing Secondary Listing

On May 28, EV maker NIO announced its unaudited results for the first quarter of 2020 ending March 31. NIO‘s revenue in the first quarter of 2020 fell 16% to 1.37 billion yuan from a year earlier. The company’s total revenue was 1.372 billion yuan, down 51.8% from the previous quarter and 15.9% from the same period last year.

Among them, the vehicle sales revenue was 1.256 billion yuan, a 53.2% month-on-month decline, and 18.2% year-on-year decline. It was mainly affected by the COVID-19 and the increase in the proportion of ES6 with a lower price.

In terms of business performance, NIO delivered 3,838 vehicles in Q1, including 3,643 ES6 and 195 ES8, down 53.3% month on month and 3.8 percent year on year.

In the conference call following the release of the financial results, William Bin Li, founder and CEO of NIO said that NIO’s vehicle gross profit margin would definitely exceed 5%, and the overall gross profit margin would also exceed 3%. Li also stated there is a “possibility” for the company to consider a domestic secondary listing. Based on the company’s tradition from 2017, a new model will be released every year. Li said “the company plans to stick with the tradition,” hinting at the launch of a new model later this year.

“On April 29, 2020, NIO entered into the definitive agreements with strategic investors for investment in NIO China. The strategic investment will provide sufficient funds to support NIO’s business development, enhance our leadership in the products and technologies of smart electric vehicles, and offer services exceeding users’ expectations. The establishment of NIO China’s headquarters in Hefei will further improve our operating efficiency in the long run,” concluded Mr. Li. Under the definitive agreements, the Strategic Investors will invest an aggregate of RMB 7 billion in cash into NIO (Anhui) Holding Ltd., the legal entity of NIO China.