SHANGHAI, May 13, 2026, 23:03 (China Standard Time)
Shares of NIO Inc. jumped 43.5 cents to $6.515 Wednesday, pushing the Chinese EV maker’s market cap to about $13.6 billion. Traders zeroed in on its latest delivery numbers, the ES8 SUV, and the company’s push with battery swaps.
Timing’s key here. NIO will release unaudited first-quarter numbers ahead of the U.S. open on May 21, which puts the spotlight on whether those margin improvements seen in late 2025 managed to hold up as China’s auto market cooled.
The numbers go beyond just how many cars NIO sells. For the fourth quarter of 2025, the company put up a vehicle margin of 18.1% and posted a gross margin at 17.5%. Adjusted profit from operations—stripping out items like share-based compensation—landed at 1.25 billion yuan, or $178.9 million. Chief Financial Officer Stanley Yu Qu labeled the result a “major milestone” in operating performance. NIO Inc.
NIO reported a 22.8% jump in April deliveries, reaching 29,356 vehicles and pushing cumulative deliveries up to 1,110,413 as of April 30. Breaking down the numbers, 19,024 were NIO-brand models, with 5,352 ONVO vehicles and 4,980 FIREFLY cars shipped in the month. The company also flagged pre-sales activity for the ES9 and ONVO L80 in April.
The ES8 is doing most of the heavy lifting here. According to CnEVPost, which referenced China Passenger Car Association figures posted by local auto sites, the big electric SUV moved 13,028 units in April, making up 44.38% of NIO’s total monthly deliveries.
On May 8, Seeking Alpha’s Bernard Zambonin said NIO has shifted from just chasing volume—and burning cash—to focusing on margins, thanks to the ES8. Zambonin, who owns shares of NIO, argued the market continues to miss the real impact of that model. Still, he flagged soft margins, sluggish deliveries, and higher operating costs as notable risks.
Motley Fool analyst Jeff Siegel, writing for Yahoo Finance, didn’t soft-pedal what it would take for a stock to multiply tenfold. He laid out a tall order: “massive delivery growth, stronger margins, and successful scaling” of battery swapping. That means multimillion-unit annual deliveries, vehicle margins north of 20%, and a far bigger pool of Battery-as-a-Service users—drivers who skip battery ownership, opting instead for a monthly subscription. The Motley Fool
NIO points to its swap network as proof. Back in February, the company announced it had hit 100 million battery swaps, rolled out 3,790 Power Swap Stations globally, and is targeting another 1,000 stations in 2026. According to NIO, each swap averages around three minutes.
NIO remains behind its main rivals by volume. In April, XPeng handed over 31,011 vehicles, Li Auto came in at 34,085, while BYD moved a hefty 321,123 units—underscoring the size deficit NIO is still battling, even as more buyers opt for its premium SUVs.
The wider market hasn’t been much support. According to Reuters, China’s EV registrations dropped 8% year-on-year in April to roughly 850,000 units. Still, Chinese makers kept pushing overseas, sending over 400,000 EVs abroad that month.
The risk side is hard to ignore. NIO’s pouring cash into battery-swapping networks, R&D, and scaling up overseas, yet China’s EV space is packed and buyers are hunting for deals. Should ES8 sales lose steam before the ES9 and ONVO L80 ramp up, margins could come under real pressure.
May 21 marks the immediate hurdle. Should NIO manage to protect margins while pushing growth past its main SUV, the focus could swing harder toward earnings potential. If not, it’s still a capital-intensive EV recovery play—solid product, sure, but next to no space for mistakes.
