Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio has forecast a surge of up to 97% in first-quarter deliveries, underscoring the turnaround after posting its first-ever quarterly profit and defying a slowdown that has hit most of its domestic rivals. Nio, ranked the 15th bestselling Chinese EV maker last year, set a delivery guidance of 80,000 to 83,000 vehicles for the first quarter of 2026, representing a year-on-year surge of between 90% and 97%. The growth projection bucked the trend of most Chinese peers in the first two months of 2026, when halved purchase tax incentives weighed on sales. BYD, China’s largest EV maker, saw sales volume fall 35.8% year-on-year, while Leapmotor, the bestseller among smaller players, recorded a 19% rise over the same period. “Our in-house core smart EV technologies continued to reach mass production and deployment, enhancing product competitiveness while delivering meaningful cost efficiencies,” said William Li, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Nio. A series of new promotions in March for both its Nio and Onvo brands and a significant reduction in customer waiting times were expected to help boost deliveries in March, Deutsche Bank Analyst Wang Bin said in a note.
The company also projected revenue for the January quarter to be between CNY24.5 billion and CNY25.2 billion, an increase of between 103% and 109% from a year earlier. It came after Nio achieved its first quarterly profit since its founding 11 years ago. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the firm reported an adjusted profit of CNY726.8 million and an adjusted net profit from operations of CNY1.25 billion, reversing losses from the previous quarter and a year earlier. That milestone helped Nio join the ranks of profitable EV makers including BYD, Li Auto, Leapmotor and IM Motors. However, Nio still posted a full-year adjusted net loss of CNY12 billion, though the deficit narrowed by 39% from one year earlier. Vehicle deliveries in the fourth quarter reached 124,807 units, a sharp increase of nearly 72% year-on-year and 43.3% quarter-on-quarter.
Quarterly revenue hit a record CNY34.65 billion, soaring 76% from the previous year and 59% from the prior quarter. Gross margins showed a broad recovery, with the comprehensive gross margin at 17.5% and vehicle margin at 18%, both reaching their highest levels since 2022. For the full year of 2025, deliveries totaled 326,028 units, up 47% year-on-year, while annual revenue reached CNY87.5 billion, a 33% increase. Nio also highlighted its cash reserves had surged to nearly CNY46 billion, an increase of nearly CNY10 billion, significantly easing financial pressure and bolstering its resilience, the South China Morning Post reports.
