HSBC has nearly doubled its price target on Nio‘s US-listed shares, citing the company’s sales momentum with the recent launch of the Onvo L90 and the third-gen ES8.
The price target was increased by 90.2% to $7.80, from $4.10.
Based on Tuesday’s close at $7.50, the new price target implies a slight upside potential of 4% on the stock.
As EV reported in January, the firm had downgraded Nio’s rating from Buy to Hold in the first weeks of 2025. By then, it cut the price target on the stock from $7.20 to $4.50.
Over the past four years, HSBC has consistently trimmed Nio‘s price target as the stock price has fallen from its all-time high of $66.99 reached in January 2021.
In the past three months, the US-listed shares of the Shanghai-based EV maker have more than doubled, with 31.1% of it being achieved in the previous 30 days.
According to HSBC, the jump was driven by the launch of the three-row L90, from Nio‘s sub-brand Onvo, in late July, plus the large-sized ES8 SUV on September 20.
The two models led Nio Group‘s registrations in September, leading the company to a new monthly record for the second consecutive time.
The EV maker delivered over 34,749 units across its three brands, with its main marque representing 13,728 vehicles, while the Onvo sub-brand accounted for 15,246 units.
In late September, Onvo reached its 20,000th L90 delivery, nearly two months after deliveries began.
Onvo Chief Fei Shen reiterated that the company plans to produce 15,000 units of its newly launched three-row SUV in October.
In total, the Group is targeting 150,000 units delivered in the last three months of the year, with the recently launched Onvo L90 and flagship Nio ES8 expected to drive most of the deliveries.
For the recently launched ES8, management announced plans to produce 40,000 units this year, warning that a further production capacity boost would be difficult to achieve.
That target was surpassed in just nine minutes after the orders opened at the end of the launch event.
According to the company’s website, new orders from September 21 faced a waiting time of between 24 and 26 weeks.
The delivery waiting time remains the same as of Wednesday, with new orders expected to be delivered in April 2026.
In late September, the company started using 100kWh battery packs to accelerate deliveries of its newly launched third-gen ES8, a move that will temporarily constrain supply at its battery swap stations.
Investors also pointed to Nio’s $1.16 billion equity offering in mid-September, during which the company issued more than 209 million shares .
Nio said the purpose of the equity offering was to strengthen its balance sheet and continue investing in its products and battery-swapping technology.
HSBC believes that Nio‘s volume ramp-up will drive economies of scale in the short term, leading to a sequential rise in gross margin in the second half of the year.
Higher vehicle margins are crucial for the company to achieve its target of being profitable by year-end.
In mid-August, Nio’s founder and CEO William Li reaffirmed the target, saying that the company set a goal of achieving profitability in the fourth quarter.
“We will seize this opportunity and be profitable, so customers do not need to worry,” Li stated then.
However, the analysts cautioned that the long-term outlook for margin and sustainable volume growth remains uncertain, given the intense price competition in China’s EV market.
HSBC reiterated an Hold rating on the stock.
As of press time, Nio shares are trading 2% higher at $7.66.
