Macquarie on Friday upgraded its rating on Nio, citing improved sales prospects following the launch of what it described as the electric vehicle maker’s “most competitive offering” to date.
Analyst Eugene Hsiao raised the firm’s rating on the Shanghai-based EV maker from Neutral to Outperform.
The firm, which has a $5.50 price target on the US-listed shares and HK$44.00 on the Hong Kong-listed ones, increased its groupwide annual sales estimates to 347,000 vehicles in 2025 and 500,000 in 2026.
For this year, Nio‘s management has targeted sales to reach 440,000 units, doubling from 2024.
“Priced at Rmb265,800, the L90 is poised to be Nio’s most competitive offering — a six-seat large SUV near the price of the five-seat Tesla Model Y,” Hsiao wrote in a new research note.
The analyst added that the L90 appears to offer greater value than Li Auto’s L8, while undercutting it by 17% on entry price. Li Auto’s six-seat SUV was launched earlier in the week in Beijing.
The brokerage projects Onvo, Nio’s family-oriented sub-brand, could sell between 8,000 and 12,000 units of the L90 per month, addressing what it described as Nio’s core problem of insufficient volume.
Deliveries of the L90 began earlier on Friday across 44 cities in China. Nio CEO William Li and Onvo head Shen Fei were present in Hangzhou and Hefei, respectively, to hand over the first vehicles.
The company expects Onvo to reach monthly deliveries of 25,000 units in the fourth quarter, helping support Nio’s reiterated goal of reaching break-even in Q4.
Separately, Citi analyst Jeff Chung echoed Macquarie’s optimism, stating that the L90 appears to offer better value and higher user satisfaction than rivals such as Li Auto’s L8.
Citi forecast monthly deliveries of 8,000 to 9,000 units and reiterated a Buy rating on Nio.
According to user posts on Nio’s official Beijing community group, the first batch of L90 units sold out in under three hours. A social media user attending the launch event claimed Onvo had roughly 10,000 vehicles in stock at the time.
Macquarie’s new target prices for Nio were raised by over 40% to HK$44.00 for the Hong Kong-listed shares and $5.50 for the US-listed shares.
Despite the bullish report, Nio shares were trading 1.4% lower at $4.80 in early morning trade, amid a broader market decline following a new round of reciprocal tariffs signed by US President Donald Trump.
The order introduces new levies ranging from 10% to 41% on several countries.
Nio reported on Friday that its Onvo sub-brand delivered 5,976 vehicles in July, down 6.6% from June. However, amid the launch of the L90, deliveries are expected to more than double to a new record this month.
The brand delivered 6,400 vehicles in June, 6,281 in May, and 4,400 in April.
