What’s New With Nio Stock?
Chinese luxury EV maker Nio stock (NYSE:NIO) jumped over 14% on Friday and remains up by almost 28% over the last five trading days. The gains come after the company unveiled a relatively aggressively priced premium SUV, amid the intensifying electric vehicle price war in China. The redesigned third generation version of the ES8 SUV is priced at about RMB 308,800 (about $43,000) under a battery subscription plan, which lowers the upfront cost while offering customers flexibility to swap or upgrade batteries through a monthly fee.
The version with battery included costs about 25% less than the previous generation model. The subscription model addresses consumer concerns about high upfront costs and battery reliability. The vehicle is positioned as a premium flagship, with a late-September planned launch. The Chinese EV market has been in the midst of an intense price war with the likes of Tesla, BYD, Xpeng, Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), and Nio aggressively competing for market share with price cuts, while several smaller startups and legacy automakers have also entered the market with compelling EV models. This has resulted in what is likely one of the most crowded EV markets in the world.
Image by Hookyung Lee from Pixabay
Expansion Into New Price Points, Markets
Nio’s delivery numbers have been mixed. Deliveries for July 2025 stood at 21,017 units, down from 24,925 in June, which had marked a year-high. While the ES8 SUV remains a premium offering, the company’s value-focused Onvo brand, launched in September 2024, has been ramping up quickly. The company recently launched the flagship Onvo L90 SUV, starting at RMB 265,800 ($37,000), while the Onvo L60 was launched last year with prices starting at RMB 200,000 ($28,000). The L90 saw over 7,000 units delivered in the first three weeks of August.
Meanwhile, Nio’s new Firefly brand, positioned in the high-end compact market, is targeting young urban buyers in China and will be a key part of the company’s push into Europe, where compact cars are popular. Firefly vehicles start at about $16,500. Competition at home and considerable manufacturing capacity have prompted most Chinese EV players to push to expand in overseas markets. Last week, Nio confirmed plans to enter three new markets between 2025 and 2026, including Singapore, its first Southeast Asia launch with a Firefly model. Separately, is there More Upside For SOFI Stock After A 60% Rise?
From a valuation standpoint, Nio stock trades at just about 1x estimated 2025 revenue, which is well below its peers. Homegrown rival Xpeng trades at about 2x forward revenue, while EV bellwether Tesla trades at a lofty 11x revenue. This sharp discount suggests that the market still has concerns about Nio’s ability to deliver consistent growth and profitability amid heavy competition and international challenges. On the other hand, the Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – S&P 500, Russell, and S&P midcap. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.
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