- In the first quarter, the average selling price for the Nio brand exceeded 390,000 yuan, which is 50,000 yuan higher than BMW’s.
- Nio maintains its goal of achieving a non-GAAP operating profit for the full year 2026.
(An ES8 on display at Nio’s F2 plant in Hefei in January 2026. Image credit: CnEVPost)
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) released its first-quarter 2026 financial results on Thursday, followed by an analyst conference call.
Below are the key highlights from the call, with the most recent information listed first.
Nio still aims to deploy 1,000 battery swap stations this year. Achieving profitability in the battery swap business in the short term is not yet a priority.
Nio’s main product for the second half of the year is the five-seat version of the Nio ES8.
Onvo’s brand awareness is currently insufficient; it is roughly on par with Nio’s brand awareness in 2020.
The Onvo team is actively reaching out to customers to encourage more users to take test drives and learn about the brand. Once they get to know Onvo, the conversion rate from test drives is quite high.
The market space for five-seat SUVs is roughly three times that of three-row SUVs, so the Onvo L80 has a larger market than the L90 to tap into.
The fundraising for the Shenji chip business has gone smoothly, which will help with the development of next-generation chips and more cost-effective chips.
Over the past two years, Nio has seen steady growth in its ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) software subscription service.
By the second half of the year, 80% of Nio Inc’s vehicles will be equipped with the company’s in-house Shenji NX9031 autonomous driving chip.
In the first quarter, Nio brand’s average selling price exceeded 390,000 yuan, which is 50,000 yuan higher than BMW’s.
The average selling price for the Onvo brand is about 240,000 yuan, which is higher than that of many second-tier luxury brands.
Nio maintains its target of achieving a non-GAAP operating profit for the full year 2026.
Nio’s 5566 models (ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, EC6) will be upgraded to the latest platform next year, and Onvo will also launch new models next year. Nio Inc will releases 3 to 5 relatively new models each year.
Since the beginning of the year, rising raw material prices have created significant cost pressures. This includes increases in memory prices, as well as prices for key battery materials — such as lithium carbonate, nickel, cobalt, and manganese — and prices for copper and aluminum.
Rising raw material prices have increased Nio’s average cost per vehicle by more than 10,000 yuan.
Nio aims to achieve a gross margin of 17% to 18% on vehicle sales in the second quarter and for the full year.
The ES8 achieved a gross margin of over 20% in the first quarter.
Since the ES9 went on pre-sale, it has not only failed to cannibalize orders for the ES8 but has actually had a very positive impact on that model.
Since the ES9 was unveiled, average weekly orders for the ES8 have increased by nearly 30% compared to previous weeks.
In June, both Nio and Onvo vehicles will receive the latest Nio World Model (NWM) updates, which will further enhance the intelligent driving experience — including driving, parking, and active safety features.
The Firefly brand will continue to reinforce its unique brand identity by launching limited-edition models.
Onvo’s updated L60 SUV will be unveiled at the end of May, featuring upgrades in exterior design and smart features to further enhance its competitiveness.
The Nio ES9 will be launched and begin deliveries on May 27. William Li, Nio’s founder, chairman, and CEO, said the company is confident that the ES9 will be a new benchmark for high-tech executive SUVs priced above 500,000 yuan.
Nio reported an adjusted operating profit (non-GAAP) of RMB 66.8 million ($9.7 million) for the first quarter of 2026.
