Nio fired its head of German operations in February after the Chinese electric vehicle maker sold just one vehicle in Europe’s largest automotive market in January, a person close to the matter told EV on Wednesday.
David Sultzer, who had served as general manager for Germany since June 2024, was ousted by management following what was the brand’s weakest sales month since entering the country.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Sultzer’s LinkedIn profile still listed him as general manager of Nio Germany.
The dismissal came just weeks before Sultzer published a pointed LinkedIn post on Tuesday — reported by EV earlier on Wednesday — in which he warned that new EV brands are failing in Germany by prioritizing premium positioning over operational fundamentals such as service coverage, residual value stability and sales management.
Financials
The leadership change comes as Nio Deutschland GmbH’s finances paint a bleak picture.
The company’s 2023 annual report, first reported by Manager Magazin showed a net loss of more than €58 million on gross revenue of approximately €9.4 million.
In the period of the financial report, Sultzer was not leading the operations in the German market. Former Volvo executive Ralph Kranz was leading Nio in Germany, according to his LinkedIn.
Negative equity ballooned from roughly €22.3 million to nearly €80.4 million within a single year.
The filing was completed on January 16, 2026 — well past the legal deadline.
Nio Deutschland warned in the report that 2024 and 2025 would bring a “sharp decline in revenue” and that annual losses would likely exceed the 2023 figure.
Sales in Freefall
The financial deterioration has mirrored a collapse in sales.
Nio registered 1,263 vehicles in Germany in 2023, according to KBA data.
That figure plunged 68.5% to 398 in 2024, and fell a further 18.3% to 325 in 2025 — in a market where overall EV registrations rose 23.4%.
In January 2026, the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) reported a single Nio registration.
The brand operates four flagship showrooms in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf and Hamburg, but every vehicle currently offered in the country is a 2023 or 2024 model year.
The lineup was refreshed in China in 2025, though the updated versions have not reached European showrooms.
Updated versions of the ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, and EC6 vehicles were launched in China in May.
To increase demand, Nio has turned to 0% financing on short-term registered vehicles, valid until March 31, and a six-month “Try & Buy” trial for the ET7 sedan requiring a one-time payment of €4,500, with the full amount credited toward the purchase price.
Sultzer’s Diagnosis
In the LinkedIn post published Tuesday, Sultzer outlined three recurring failures he said he had observed across new automotive brands in Germany.
The first was confusing retail presence with sales, warning that when lead quality and close rates are not managed, volume comes through discounts that damage positioning.
The second was misunderstanding premium, which in Germany means residual value stability, competitive leasing and reliable service rather than a price tag.
The third was service readiness, arguing that if workshop availability, parts supply and turnaround times are not in place at launch, marketing spend is wasted.
Sultzer did not mention Nio in the post.
Fourth Germany Chief in Four Years
The executive’s departure makes him the fourth executive to hold the top operational role in Germany since Nio entered the market in October 2022 — a pace of leadership turnover that mirrors the brand’s inability to gain traction.
Ralph Kranz, formerly Volvo’s Director of Commercial Operations in Germany, was hired in March 2022 to build the business from scratch.
He oversaw the market launch and the opening of Nio Houses in Berlin and Frankfurt, but exited the company in early 2024 after registrations failed to gain momentum.
Nio registered 1,263 vehicles in Germany in 2023, Kranz’s only full year in the role.
Marius Hayler, who had led Nio‘s entry into Norway as the brand’s first general manager in the Nordic market, was moved to Germany in late 2023 to replace Kranz.
He lasted eight months before departing in June 2024 to join Polestar as director for the Nordic countries.
Matt Galvin, then Nio‘s head of the UK market, left at the same time to become Polestar’s country manager for the UK.
Sultzer, who had joined Nio in September 2023 as regional manager for eastern Germany after a year as head of field sales at Genesis Motor Europe, was promoted to replace Hayler.
His tenure coincided with the sharpest phase of the sales decline — from 325 vehicles in the full year of 2025 to a single unit in January 2026.
Tariffs and Strategic Missteps
Nio faces a 20.7% countervailing duty on top of the EU’s standard 10% import tariff, bringing total levies on its vehicles to 30.7%.
Executive Vice President Mark Zhou said in a podcast interview that the company made “fundamental miscalculations” when it expanded from Norway into the broader EU in 2022, underestimating infrastructure costs and GDPR compliance.
European staff “kept telling us, our cars are too big,” Zhou said.
