NIO has just released its global electric car sales results for the month of January and it seems that the year 2023 begins in the red right from the start.
The Chinese premium car brand reports that its total vehicle deliveries amounted to 8,506 last month, which is nearly 12 percent less than a year ago.
The overwhelming majority of NIO sales are in China.
A volume lower than a year ago, despite a broader vehicle lineup and additional sales in Europe, is a worrying sign, suggesting that it might be a challenging year for NIO.
Keep in mind that Tesla's price reduction reportedly increased the number of orders in China, which might impact NIO's competitive position. According to new media reports, multiple Chinese EV start-ups already noted weaker sales than in January 2022.
December was far better for NIO, which set a new record of 15,816 units (up 51 percent year-over-year).
NIO reports that its crossover/SUV sales in January, amounted to 2,190 units - that's 77 percent less than a year ago. This is a pretty massive drop, although it might be partially related to the upcoming refresh of the older crossover/SUV models (EC6, ES6, ES8). Customer deliveries of the new ES8 are expected in June (we assume that ES6/EC6 to follow later in 2023 or in 2024). Meanwhile, the all-new ES7 will be joined by the new EC7 in May for a total of five models.
In the case of sedans (ET5 and ET7), sales amounted to 6,316 (both models are new, so there is no comparison with January 2022). NIO does not provide a breakdown between the individual models anymore.
Sales results:
- Crossover/SUVs (EC6, ES6, ES7, ES8): 2,190 (down 77% year-over-year)
- Sedans (ET5, ET7): 6,316 (new)
- Total: 8,506 (down 12% year-over-year)
NIO car sales – January 2023
For reference, in 12 months of 2022, NIO sold more than 122,000 electric cars globally:
- Crossover/SUVs (EC6, ES6, ES7, ES8) YTD: 87,598 (down 4.2% year-over-year)
- Sedans (ET5, ET7) YTD: 34,888 (new)
- Total YTD: 122,486 (up 34% year-over-year)
Cumulatively, NIO sold 298,062 electric cars (the 300,000th car was produced on December 12).
NIO currently offers six electric car models (EC6, ES6, ES7, ES8, ET5 and ET7). All aside from the ET5 are produced at the JAC-NIO Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Hefei. The ET5 is produced at NIO's second factory at NeoPark.
The EC6, ES6, and ES8, are based on the first-generation platform, while the ES7 (in Europe known as EL7), ET5, and ET7 are based on the NT 2.0 platform. In May, the company is expected to launch the all-new EC7 model.
