On Christmas Eve, Nio (NIO) wanted everyone to feel the light.
"Feel the Light" was the theme for the Chinese automaker's Nio Day 2022, its annual event held in Hefei this year. There, the company released two new flagship electric SUVs: the EC7 and ES8, which will start shipping in May and June.
Nio said the new SUVs would have autonomous battery swaps. The vehicles can plan routes for battery swap, drive to the locations, automatically complete the power swap, and get back on the highway.
Wall Street seemed to be feeling the light.
Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao, who has an overweight rating and $16.10 price target on Nio shares, told investors that the next-generation power-replenishment technology was "the key spotlight of the day."
Bank of America analyst Ming Hsun Lee said in a research note that the flagship coupe SUV model has "elegance" while the new ES8 will bring enhanced performance based on the NT2.0 autonomous driving technology platform.
Lee, who maintained a buy rating on Nio with a $15 price target, cited the company's "advantages in the premium smart EV segment and strong model pipelines."
But things have turned dark for Nio.
Nio 'Prudently' Lowers Expectations
The company said on Dec. 27 it had "prudently" lowered its expectations for fourth quarter deliveries.
Nio now expects to deliver 38,500 to 39,500 vehicles in the fourth quarter, down from previously released outlook of 43,000 to 48,000 vehicles.
"In December 2022, the company has been facing challenges in deliveries and productions, together with certain supply chain constraints, caused by the outbreak of the omicron coronavirus variant in major cities in China," Nio said in a statement.
The carmaker said that while its teams "have strived to maintain continuous operations on all fronts, we were not able to reach our full capacities, particularly when there have been disruptions on delivery and registration procedures involving users."
China's latest wave of covid-19 infections is sparking concern among scientists that a dangerous new virus variant could emerge for the first time in more than a year, Bloomberg reported.
Nio's reduced outlook follows an announcement that hackers stole user data and information about Nio's sales.
Nio said that on Dec. 11 that it had received an email in which the sender asked for $2.25 million in bitcoin to remain silent and not publish the stolen data.
"The company strongly condemns such unlawful acts and will not bow down to cybercrimes," Nio said. "We will learn from the lessons and strengthen our technical strength to continuously improve the security protection of Nio's information systems to fully protect the information security of our users."
This incident followed a revelation In April where the company said that one of its server managers used his position to mine ether, the second largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, for more than a year.
Tough Year for Some EV Companies
It has been a tough year for some electric vehicle companies, including Rivian (RIVN), which has seen its stock price tumble more than 80% since January.
Rivian is also suffering from supply-chain challenges, which are driving up costs and are having a huge impact on its efforts to mass-produce vehicles.
Lucid Group's (LCID) stock took a similar nosedive and even the mighty Tesla has watched its shares head south as CEO Elon Musk shelled out $44 billion to take over Twitter.
Automakers have worked to make electric vehicles more affordable in 2022.
Ford (F), which started production and deliveries of the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of the iconic F-150 pickup truck, added a third shift in the Michigan plant in charge of assembling the F-150 Lightning.
President Joe Biden, who has made the adoption of green cars one of his priorities, included tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed last August, to encourage consumers to choose electric vehicles when they buy cars.
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