Unlike Rivals, NIO Uncovers May EV Under-Capacity Sales

Automotive Author: Fuller Wang, CNBC Jun 01, 2022 10:11 AM (GMT+8)

Covid-related disruptions continued to limit the Chinese multinational automobile manufacturers' manufacturing and delivery.

NIO

Chinese multinational automobile manufacturer NIO delivered more than 7,000 vehicles in May, up 4.7% year on year, but well below its current production capacity, as Covid-related disruptions continued to limit the company's manufacturing and delivery. Nio said in a statement that its manufacturing had been gradually recovering in May from pandemic-related disruptions, but that its ability to deliver vehicles was still constrained to a certain extent by lockdowns and other measures imposed to limit the spread of new Covid variants in some regions of China.

NIO is working with its suppliers to boost production in June, it said. It expects deliveries to rise as well, as those Covid-related restrictions have begun to ease. Nevertheless, the company said its new orders remain strong without providing exact numerical insights.

However, its rival XPEV said it was able to deliver 10,125 vehicles for the month, up 78% compared with the previous year, as it resumed two-shift production at its factory in mid-May. XPEV is based in southern China, an area that has fared better amid the recent Covid outbreaks than the region around Hefei (where Nio is based). Another rival, Li Auto, which is based in Changzhou, said it was able to deliver about 11,500 vehicles in May, up over 160% year over year, even if experiencing pandemic-related disruptions at its suppliers in the Yangtze River region to its west.