New York, Jan 12, 2026, 11:16 AM EST — Regular session
- Shares of NIO climbed roughly 5.8% in late-morning trading, reaching $4.93.
- The Firefly brand has reached 40,000 deliveries, boosting the near-term demand outlook.
- Tuesday’s U.S. inflation report is the next big macro hurdle for stocks sensitive to interest rates.
Shares of NIO Inc climbed roughly 5.8%, reaching $4.91 by late morning Monday, after briefly hitting $4.93 earlier. Around 23.6 million shares changed hands.
The rally unfolds amid renewed jitters in U.S. equities over Fed and credit market news. Jordan Rizzuto, chief investment officer at GammaRoad Capital Partners, warned, “Any further meaningful moves towards less independence is not going to be viewed favorably by markets.” reuters.com
China’s battery supply chain is back under the spotlight. Beijing’s move to phase out value-added tax export rebates on certain battery products pushed lithium prices in China sharply higher early on, highlighting how quickly policy can alter EV input costs. (A VAT export rebate refunds taxes to exporters; cutting it means higher taxes.)
Shares of other EV makers tied to China also climbed. XPeng jumped roughly 7.4%, Li Auto added around 2.6%, and Tesla inched up about 0.6%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index, which tracks numerous Chinese companies listed in the U.S., gained close to 4%.
Firefly, NIO’s compact-car division, announced on China’s Weibo on Jan. 10 that it reached its 40,000th vehicle delivery, according to CnEVpost. The report noted Firefly delivered 586 units so far this month, following a December record of 7,084 deliveries.
In a securities filing earlier this month, NIO reported a record 48,135 vehicle deliveries in December. This included 31,897 under the NIO brand, 9,154 from Onvo, and 7,084 under Firefly. For the full year 2025, deliveries jumped 46.9% to 326,028, pushing cumulative deliveries to 997,592 as of Dec. 31.
The stock’s jump raises a familiar query: can higher volumes translate into more consistent profits in China’s crowded EV space? NIO has expanded its lineup across three brands, yet pricing power remains largely in the hands of larger competitors.
The trade isn’t one-directional. Another surge in aggressive discounting throughout the sector—or a further spike in battery materials costs—could squeeze margins and prompt a more cautious stance on demand.
The next near-term catalyst is macro. The U.S. consumer price index for December arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Jan. 13. This key data could shift rate expectations and quickly change the valuation mood for growth stocks, including EV makers.
