Nio remains in the red

The Chinese electric car manufacturer continued a trend from last year into the start of this year: Nio was able to grow sales and turnover in the first quarter, but did not make any significant moves towards breaking even.

However, the more favourable Onvo brand is increasingly paying off in terms of company-wide sales. This is because Nio delivered 42,094 vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 30,053 electric cars in the opening quarter a year ago. However, the growth of 40.1 per cent is mainly due to Onvo, as only 27,313 vehicles were delivered by the premium brand Nio in Q1 2025, with Onvo accounting for 14,781. Compared to the record from the fourth quarter of 2024, however, sales this time were 42.1 per cent lower.

The fact that Nio is growing primarily with Onvo’s more affordable electric cars is also reflected in sales, which did not increase by 40 per cent. At 12.0 billion yuan (around 1.46 billion euros), quarterly sales are ‘only’ 21.5 per cent higher than the previous year and 38.9 per cent below the record quarter at the end of 2024.

However, despite Nio delivering more cars and generating more sales, the net loss also increased to 6.75 billion yuan (818 million euros), which is 30.2 per cent more than in Q1 2024. Although the net loss fell by 5.1 per cent compared to Q4 2024, the final quarter was on a completely different level to the opening quarters, which are traditionally weaker in China. Competitor Xpeng, on the other hand, halved its net loss in Q1 and now only has the equivalent of 81 million euros on its balance sheet – so the black zero is within reach here, but not yet for Nio.

Firefly ensures more volume

However, Nio remains optimistic for the current year. After two months in the second quarter, the company has already reported 47,131 deliveries, which is already more than in the first quarter, and the June figures are still pending. And with the start of deliveries of the Firefly small electric cars in April, sales are likely to increase further.

The models of the core brand Nio are also being kept up to date: In May, Nio launched the revised versions of the mid-range models ES6 (SUV), EC6 (SUV coupé), ET5 (saloon) and ET5 Touring (estate) in China, with the global rollout expected to take place over the course of the year.

“Since the beginning of the second quarter, we have seen a steady increase in monthly delivery volume. In April, our new products, the ET9 and firefly, have secured notable market shares in the premium executive market and high-end small electric car market respectively,” said William Bin Li, founder and CEO of Nio. “We have also witnessed the rising demand for ONVO L60. In late May, the New ES6, EC6, ET5 and ET5T started deliveries with all around upgrades. Based on this, we expect total deliveries for the second quarter to reach between 72,000 and 75,000, representing a year-on-year growth of 25.5% to 30.7%.”

This growth should no longer lead to internally rising costs, as Nio CFO Stanley Yu Qu adds: “Since the first quarter, we have implemented a range of cost control measures, including organizational restructuring, cross-brand integration, and efficiency improvements in R&D, supply chain, sales and services. Starting from the second quarter, the Company aims to achieve structural improvements in overall cost efficiency, with continued progress in operational performance.”

nio.com