HONG KONG, May 28, 2026, 17:01 HKT
- NIO shares in Hong Kong finished up 6.28% at HK$44.34, after hitting HK$46.08 during the session.
- The company’s U.S.-listed ADR jumped 9.32% on Wednesday. That outpaced the smaller moves in both the Nasdaq Composite and Dow.
- Investors are watching to see if the ES9 launch can help NIO’s margins as China’s auto market slows.
NIO Inc stock jumped in Hong Kong Thursday as the Chinese EV company rolled out its ES9 flagship SUV. Shares ended at HK$44.34, up 6.28%. The move came after the stock touched HK$46.08 at the session high. The launch gave some investors a new reason to buy, despite lingering weakness in the Chinese car market.
The U.S.-listed ADR finished Wednesday at $5.75, rising 9.32%. It beat the Nasdaq Composite, which edged up 0.07%, and the Dow’s 0.36% advance. Volume hit 92.1 million shares, well over twice its 50-day average.
NIO is pushing a more expensive lineup as growth slows in China’s auto market. CEO William Li said the sector is unlikely to see another “golden era.” He also said the company is still “focused primarily on China” since exports are small. Reuters
NIO has launched the ES9, a new six-seat luxury electric SUV. According to CnEVPost, it starts at 498,000 yuan with the battery, which is 30,000 yuan under its earlier pre-sale price. The battery-rental option comes in at 390,000 yuan, with buyers leasing the battery pack.
NIO is turning to star power, Reuters reported, tapping ex-NBA player Yao Ming to front the ES9 in a bid for more global recognition. CEO Li still calls China the main market for pure EV investment. The ES9 runs on NIO’s own autonomous-driving chip and operating system, according to Reuters.
NIO’s numbers have picked up over the past year. The EV maker reported first-quarter deliveries up 98.3% year-on-year to 83,465 vehicles, with revenue hitting 25.53 billion yuan. Vehicle margin climbed to 18.8%. Adjusted net profit came in at 43.5 million yuan. These adjusted, or non-GAAP, figures leave out some costs like share-based compensation.
NIO is in an “intensive new product launch and delivery cycle,” Li said in the company’s latest results release. The company projected it will deliver 110,000 to 115,000 vehicles in the second quarter, which would be 52.7% to 59.6% higher than a year ago. Chief Financial Officer Stanley Yu Qu said vehicle margin was up for the fourth quarter in a row. NIO Inc.
China’s EV makers keep moving. BYD’s Denza has gone deeper into high-end SUVs with a new version of the N9 plug-in hybrid. Xpeng rolled out its GX premium full-size SUV last week. The push is not just about more choices. These companies are all moving upmarket together, where pricing is stronger but convincing buyers gets tougher.
Bulls are pointing to three things in this rally: ES9 demand stays firm, NIO manages to keep margins about where they are, and Q2 delivery guidance turns out to be on the safe side. Those would back up the view that NIO’s latest models—NIO, ONVO and FIREFLY—might deliver scale without heavy price cuts.
Pressure is clear. Lower launch prices can drive orders but hit margins, and weakness in China could leave even a good model cycle falling short of investor hopes. Li said NIO will boost spending on smart-driving computing resources by five times this year, a cost that needs higher sales to justify.
For now, NIO shares are showing investors crediting the company with some product momentum. The bigger question is next—whether the ES9 launch and second-quarter delivery guidance can drive cash flow that sticks, not just a one-day pop in trading.
