Bank of China International lifted its price target on Nio on Monday — the highest known target on Wall Street — citing the newly pre-launched ES9 flagship SUV and what it described as a “critical fundamental inflection point” for the company.
BOCI analyst expects the ES9 to stabilise at monthly deliveries of 3,000 to 4,000 units, driving combined ES8 and ES9 sales above 10,000 units per month with further upside potential.
The bank raised its 2026 and 2027 revenue forecasts by 3.0% to 5.0% to reflect the updated sales outlook.
The note, said Nio‘s “strong growth momentum, clear operational inflection point, and visible cash flow path” should reverse the market’s persistent pessimism and justify a valuation premium comparable to its peers.
BOCI highlighted Nio’s cost-effective NT3.0 vehicle platform and its battery swap network — which the bank now views as a profitable infrastructure asset rather than a cash drain — as the key enablers of the transition from cash-burn expansion to scalable, sustainably profitable growth.
Nio‘s main financial target for this year is to post its first ever full year of profitability.
Fourth Consecutive Raise
Monday’s revision extends a streak of upward target adjustments from BOCI that began in August 2025.
The bank has raised its Nio target four times in under nine months, from $6.00 to $9.50 (August 2025), to $10.50 (September 2025), to $11.00 last month, and now to $14.00 — more than doubling its valuation in the period.
The Buy rating has been maintained throughout without interruption.
BOCI raised its price target on Nio to $14 from $11 while reiterating a Buy rating.
The target implies 115% upside from Friday’s close of $6.50.
In March, following Nio‘s record Q4 2025 results — which included the company’s first-ever quarterly GAAP net profit of 282.7 million yuan — BOCI raised its 2026-2027 sales forecasts to 450,000-540,000 units, citing a dense product pipeline and improving margins.
The company’s official sales target ranges between 456,000 and 489,000 units.
Citi Also Raised
The BOCI move came alongside a separate upgrade from Citi.
As EV reported earlier on Monday, Citi analyst Jeff Chung raised his target on Nio’s Hong Kong-listed shares by 23.9% to HK$58.60 from HK$47.30 while maintaining a Buy rating he has held since June 2021.
The revision was the first upward move from Citi since September 2025, following three consecutive cuts that took the target from a Street-high of HK$65.90 to HK$47.30.
Last week, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) raised its Nio target by 23% to HK$61.5 and $8.00 for the US-listed shares, citing the ES9 pre-launch and a “robust pipeline.”
The cluster of upgrades follows Nio‘s pre-launch and pre-order opening for the ES9 last week.
ES9’s Gross Profit
Nio‘s management said the ES9 will generate the highest gross profit among all SUVs in the company’s lineup.
Until now, the ES8 has been the single biggest contributor to the gross margin improvement that allowed the company’s Q4 2025 breakthrough.
“The ES9’s gross profit amount is definitely the best among all of Nio‘s SUV models, and the gross margin is also OK,” founder and CEO William Li said in a media briefing in Hangzhou over the weekend.
Li added that he expects the ES9 to have a meaningful impact on operating profit starting in Q2, when customer deliveries begin on June 1.
Vehicle margin for the full year 2025 reached 14.6%, up from 12.3% in 2024, with the ES8 driving much of the improvement.
Li disclosed that orders from first-time Nio buyers — users outside the existing owner community — were running at more than 1.5 times the pace recorded during the equivalent period after last year’s ES8 launch.
Last September, the third-generation ES8 sold out its entire 2025 production capacity within 36 hours of launch and accumulated over 100,000 orders within 48 hours.
ES9 Pricing
The ES9 opens pre-sales in three trims sharing a 520 kW dual-motor powertrain and a 102 kWh CATL battery with up to 620 km of CLTC range.
The Executive Luxury Edition starts at 528,000 yuan with the battery included, or 420,000 yuan under Nio’s Battery as a Service leasing scheme. The Executive Signature starts at 588,000 yuan (480,000 with BaaS), and the range-topping Horizon Special Edition at 658,000 yuan (550,000 with BaaS). Both six-seat configurations — centre island and aisle layout — are available across all trims.
The official launch price, due at the formal debut on May 28, is expected to be slightly lower in line with previous Nio launches. Customer deliveries are scheduled to begin on June 1.
Stock
Nio’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed 7.47% higher at HK$52.40 on Monday, mirroring a 7.08% surge in the US-listed stock on Friday to $6.50.
As of press time, US-listed shares were edging 0.1% higher at $6.51.
