Nio stock rises 10% after releasing its first flagship EV in more than two years

BEIJING — Chinese electric car company Nio is raising the bar for luxury cars in a fiercely competitive market.

Shares in Chinese electric car maker Nio closed a combined 6.28% higher in Hong Kong trading on Thursday, after surging as much as 10.45% in Hong Kong trading after the company officially launched its ES9 SUV the previous day. The company’s U.S.-listed shares closed 9.32% higher overnight, extending their gains into 2026.

Prices for the ES9 start at 390,000 yuan ($57,470) on Nio’s battery subscription model. This model separates the cost of the vehicle and the monthly battery payment.

This reflects continued downward competition in China’s electric vehicle market, despite the Chinese government’s efforts to curb excessive competition, often referred to as entanglement. Sales of new energy vehicles in China fell 17% in the first four months of this year, according to the country’s passenger car association.

Nio CEO William Li told reporters on Thursday that most potential car buyers have already purchased a car and that China’s car market has already passed several years of rapid growth.

As technological features converge across EV models, branding and targeted premiumization will be key to survival, Lee said.

When Nio launched its flagship sedan ET9 at the end of 2023, the price started at 800,000 yuan. But before deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2025, consumer electronics companies xiaomi launched its first electric car for 215,900 yuan.

Deliveries of the new ES9, which Nio claims is China’s largest SUV, will begin on Thursday.

At a launch event in Beijing, CEO Li showed off an array of features, from advanced driver-assistance systems that can react to road signs to a passenger seat with a wood-grain table that unfolds like an airplane. The ES9 also supports an on-board water heater for passengers to make tea.

Nio has signed several brand promoters, including CEO Robin Zeng. Quatrethe battery industry giant asserted in a marketing video that about 2,000 of its employees have purchased Nio vehicles.

Li also highlighted that the ES9 proactively protects passengers with a “smart safety” system that can detect dangerous scenarios and minimize the impact, and live-streams crash tests and other safety features on China’s state broadcaster CCTV.

Nio delivered 83,465 cars in the first quarter. That’s nearly double the year-ago period, but down 33% from the fourth quarter. This figure also includes vehicles from Nio’s lower-priced brands, Onvo and Firefly. The brands have been launched by the company over the past two years to stay competitive in China’s sluggish consumer market.

teslaThe company’s Model Y was China’s best-selling SUV in terms of vehicle deliveries last month, according to industry data site China Autohome. Last week, after years of waiting, Elon Musk’s automaker received approval from the Chinese government to launch driver assistance in China.

Nio’s ES8 ranked 10th in April deliveries for both electric and conventional gasoline vehicles.

Foreign automakers are also reinventing low-price competition in China’s premium market.

Audi began pre-ordering its electric SUV “E7X” on May 8th, with a starting price of 289,800 yuan, and plans to officially launch it on Friday morning. The car is the second model of the German automaker’s new China-specific brand, developed in collaboration with Shanghai’s SAIC, and replaces the four-ring logo with the letters AUDI.

Like BYD and other Chinese automakers, Nio has pursued overseas expansion. However, Li said Thursday that the automaker decided last year to shift its focus back to China.

He cited geopolitical tensions such as EU tariffs and the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the much higher cost of investing in battery services overseas compared to China. Nio has focused much of its international expansion in Germany and Norway.

Highlighting Nio’s new domestic focus, Li said China’s far western Xinjiang region represents a market twice the size of Norway.