Nio Group’s founder and chief executive William Li warned on Tuesday that the unstable policy environment in the United States makes it difficult for the Chinese electric vehicle maker to consider investing in the country, as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing continue to escalate.
“Any large-scale investment in the U.S. needs to consider policy stability,” Li said, according to Chinese financial platform Gelonghui. “I don’t know what constitutes a stable U.S. policy, so it’s difficult to comment on the possibility of cooperation or investment plans in the U.S.”
Li’s remarks come as President Donald Trump ramps up tariffs on Chinese imports. Earlier this month, the White House raised the baseline tariff on Chinese goods to 145%. In response, China announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 125% on U.S. products and vowed to “fight to the end.”
The new duties come on top of existing levies, pushing total tariffs on some Chinese goods to as much as 245%, the White House said last week.
The U.S. also implemented a new 25% tariff in April on imported vehicles and auto parts, citing the need to protect domestic carmakers and critical supply chains.
Nio has maintained a U.S. presence since 2016 through its innovation center in San Jose, California, though it has scaled back some operations and significantly reduced its team — sources told EV. Last year, Chinese outlet LatePost reported that layoffs impacted key roles in Nio’s smart driving and technology teams.
Li also reaffirmed the company’s strategy to focus exclusively on fully electric vehicles, dismissing speculation that Nio might explore hybrid models to navigate tariffs in Europe or elsewhere.
“We are convinced that with the decline in battery costs and the expansion of charging and battery swapping infrastructure, fully electric vehicles are the ultimate solution,” Li said.
According to market research firm JATO Dynamics, Chinese-made light vehicles accounted for just 0.4% of U.S. sales in 2024.
China’s Ministry of Commerce on Monday commented on reports that the Trump Administration was pressuring third countries to restrict trade with China in exchange for tariff exemptions from the U.S.
“Appeasement cannot bring peace, and compromise will not earn respect,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Seeking exemptions at the expense of others’ interests for short-term personal gain is like asking a tiger for its skin — it will ultimately lead to a lose-lose outcome, harming others without benefiting oneself.”
“China firmly opposes any party making deals at the expense of China’s interests,” the spokesperson added. “Should such a situation arise, China will not accept it and will take firm and reciprocal countermeasures.”
Nio Group registered on Monday a new company named ‘Beijing Weileying Automobile Sales and Service Co., Ltd.’ The company name “Weileying” appears to be a combination of the Chinese characters from Nio (蔚来), its first sub-brand Onvo (乐道), and Firefly (萤火虫), its second brand.
Taken together, the characters 蔚 (Wei), 乐 (Le), and 萤 (Ying) form “蔚乐萤” (Weileying), which phonetically resembles the Chinese phrase “为了赢”—meaning “for the win/ in order to win.”
As of the time of writing, Nio shares are trading 1.7% higher on Tuesday’s pre-market trading at $3.66. Year to date, the stock has dropped about 17%.
