NIO Inc (NYSE:NIO) saw its shares decline 3.62% on Thursday, closing at $4.79, as the electric vehicle maker reported second-quarter deliveries that fell short of its own guidance. The stock's performance lagged the broader market, with the Nasdaq Composite rising 2.1% for the week, the S&P 500 gaining 1.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 2.0%.
June deliveries totaled 40,597 vehicles, a year-over-year increase of 62.9%. For the second quarter, NIO delivered 107,658 vehicles, up 49.4% from the same period last year but missing the low end of its forecast of 110,000 units by 2,342 vehicles. The company had guided for second-quarter deliveries between 110,000 and 115,000 units.
The delivery miss was attributed to a shift in product mix. While the NIO brand and FIREFLY models contributed to month-over-month growth in June, the ONVO brand, NIO's lower-cost family car, saw a decline. ONVO deliveries dropped from 12,029 in May to 11,743 in June, a decrease of 286 units. In contrast, the NIO brand added 1,895 units to reach 21,908, and FIREFLY contributed 1,283 more units, totaling 6,946.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank, led by Wang Bin, noted that the shortfall was largely due to weaker deliveries of the ES8 model, with only about 8,900 units in June, as some customers delayed purchases ahead of the launch of the five-seat ES8. The new model began presales on June 28 and is set to launch on July 9.
NIO's premium models continue to perform well. The company reported that deliveries of the ES9 exceeded 10,000 units less than a month after its launch on May 28. Additionally, total ES8 deliveries reached 120,000 by June 22. NIO also rolled out a new NIO WorldModel software update to over 700,000 users in June.
Among its China-listed EV peers, NIO ranked in the upper half but did not lead the pack. BYD Company Ltd (HKG:1211) delivered 403,472 new energy vehicles in June, while Leapmotor (HKG:9863) reported 93,376 deliveries. XPeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) delivered 40,126 vehicles, and Li Auto Inc (NASDAQ:LI) delivered 30,895 units, marking its second consecutive year-over-year monthly decline.
CEO William Bin Li has emphasized NIO's focus on the Chinese market, but he acknowledged that China is "no longer a growth market, but rather a saturated market." This backdrop presents challenges for NIO, whose U.S.-listed shares remain more than 40% below their 52-week high of $8.02.
Market conditions have improved somewhat following the June payrolls report, which eased pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise rates. Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments, noted that the jobs numbers "just takes the pressure off the Fed to raise rates in the short term," providing some room for high-duration growth stocks. However, NIO now faces key questions: whether July orders will show a reversal in ONVO's decline, and whether the five-seat ES8 can convert pent-up demand into actual deliveries.
