New York, Jan 14, 2026, 11:39 EST — Regular session
- Shares of Nio slipped roughly 1.6% to $4.61 during late morning trading in New York.
- Europe’s “minimum price” tariff option is back on the table as Brussels imposes tough conditions and Nio reaffirms its expansion plans in the region.
- China’s auto industry group flagged slower growth in 2026, signaling continued strain on EV makers’ sales and pricing power.
Shares of Nio Inc dropped 1.6% to $4.61 in late morning trading Wednesday, as electric vehicle stocks struggled amid fresh signals on demand and trade policy. XPeng dipped 0.8%, Li Auto fell 2.3%, and Tesla lost around 2%.
The pullback is significant as Nio continues to demonstrate growth without relying heavily on price cuts, in a market where discounting has become second nature. Any shift in the regulations around selling in Europe introduces fresh uncertainty for a stock that thrives on news momentum.
Europe finds itself caught in the middle of this debate. Should Chinese exporters secure a viable way to bypass tariffs, pricing and margins could face less strain. Without that, tariffs remain, making it tougher to sustain the export drive.
In China, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers projects vehicle sales growth will slow sharply to 1% in 2026, down from 9.4% last year. Growth in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids is expected to ease to 15.2% from 28.2%. The group also forecast exports to rise 4.3%, a slowdown from 21.1% growth in 2025. It warned of increased scrutiny on “zero-mileage used cars” — where new cars are sold as used at steep discounts — posing a short-term inventory risk. (Reuters)
Nio announced Tuesday it plans to push ahead with its European operations, following the European Commission’s move to set conditions for Chinese EV makers to swap tariffs for minimum price agreements. “We are pleased to see China and the EU making steady progress toward consensus on the basis of mutual respect,” the company said. (Reuters)
The Commission has made it clear that any deal must have real enforcement. It said minimum-price offers need to offset what it considers the damaging effects of subsidies, match the impact of the duties, and be practical to implement. The guidance also demands minimum prices set on a model-by-model basis and seeks to curb “cross-compensation”—where profits from other vehicle types are used to balance out the floor price on EVs. EU tariffs on Chinese-made EVs can reach up to 35.3%, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
The policy shift gave a boost to some China EV exporters in Asia at first. In the U.S., trading has been more volatile as investors weigh cash concerns and question if demand will persist should the domestic market cool down.
BYD climbed up to 4.8% in Hong Kong Tuesday, while Xpeng jumped 5.3%, following the EU’s announcement of a minimum-price framework, according to The Business Times. Eugene Hsiao, head of China equity strategy at Macquarie Capital, called the move “positive for developing better ties between the EU and Chinese automakers.” (The Business Times)
Still, risks abound. The EU guidance offers little support for a broad, one-size-fits-all price floor, with talks likely to stall as firms haggle over pricing and enforcement on a model-by-model basis. If demand in China weakens further, the pressure for steeper price cuts will grow — and that’s where margins can disappear quickly.
Traders are on the lookout for whether Chinese brands come forward with credible minimum-price proposals in Europe, and keen to hear what Nio reveals about demand and pricing as 2026 kicks off. Nio hasn’t announced its next earnings date yet, but MarketBeat projects the report will come out around March 20. (Marketbeat)
