Nio disclosed a concrete greenhouse gas reduction target for the first time in its 2025 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) report, committing to cut its lifecycle carbon footprint per vehicle by 43% by 2035 against a 2023 baseline.
The disclosure marks a shift from the company’s 2024 ESG report, which stated only that Nio had joined the Science Based Targets initiative and intended to submit a decarbonization roadmap by 2025 — without specifying a figure.
The 2025 report frames the target within Nio’s entry into what founder, chairman and chief executive officer William Li described as its “third development phase,” centered on high-quality growth.
Last year, Nio’s factories received National Green Factory recognition, achieving “a 26% year-on-year reduction in total energy consumption intensity and a 27% decrease in comprehensive energy consumption per vehicle” — according to the EV maker
Emissions Fell as Deliveries Rose
Nio’s total Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions declined in 2025 even as vehicle sales rose sharply.
Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions on a location-based method fell to 141,745 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, from 150,649 tonnes in 2024 — a decline of roughly 5.9%.
Vehicle deliveries rose to 326,028 units in 2025, from 221,970 units in 2024 — an increase of approximately 46.9%.
The combination drove a marked improvement in emissions intensity, which fell to 1.62 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per million yuan of revenue, from 2.29 in 2024.
Nio said its total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions decreased 5% from the previous reporting period, with third-party verification completed in accordance with ISO 14064-3.
Scope 1 emissions edged up to 30,608 tonnes from 29,738 tonnes, while location-based Scope 2 emissions — which the company said account for approximately 90% or more of its operational carbon footprint — fell to 111,138 tonnes from 120,911 tonnes.
Renewable Energy Expanded
Nio increased its renewable energy consumption during the reporting period.
Total renewable energy consumption reached 107,180 megawatt-hours in 2025, up from 99,236 megawatt-hours in 2024.
Renewable electricity accounted for 56% of total electricity consumption across Nio’s manufacturing operations in 2025, with the company consuming 104,804 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity in its manufacturing operations.
The company has three car plants established in Hefei, the capital of the Anhui Province.
Installed on-site photovoltaic capacity across Nio’s manufacturing facilities reached 67.63 megawatts, generating 50,898 megawatt-hours of on-site solar power — 27% of total electricity consumption.
Nio had procured a cumulative 53,906 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity as of the end of 2025, accounting for 29% of total electricity consumption.
The company carried out over 100 energy-saving projects in 2025, which it expects to save approximately 15.8 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 990,000 cubic meters of natural gas, it said.
Nio’s safety performance improved with the total recordable incident rate falling to 0.014 per 200,000 man-hours in 2025, from 0.060 in 2024.
The company reported zero workplace fatalities in 2025, consistent with 2024 and 2023. Training hours per capita rose to 49.98 hours in 2025, from 35.89 hours in 2024.
ESG-Linked Pay
Nio said it established an Artificial General Intelligence Committee, led by a cross-functional team of nearly 30 experts, to oversee what the company described as the “compliant, reliable, and forward-looking application of emerging technologies.”
The committee reflects the AI-centric framing that runs throughout the 2025 report, which positions artificial intelligence as a foundational capability across Nio’s smart electric vehicle architecture.
The company also said it links executive compensation to ESG performance, citing a people-oriented philosophy and meticulous compliance management across the organization.
Circular Economy Disclosures
Nio disclosed recycled-content figures for its vehicle manufacturing for the first time.
The company reported using 15% recycled aluminum, 15% recycled steel, and 2% recycled plastic in materials for vehicle manufacturing.
Through its Circular Car Lab project, Nio recycled over 1,100 end-of-life vehicles and reused nearly 500 tonnes of aluminum, reducing carbon emissions by over 10,000 tonnes.
The Circular Car Lab received the Sustainability Benchmark Award at the 18th International Automotive Congress.
The EV maker founded and led by William Li also said it achieved its first “car-to-car” material certification and recycled aluminum certification during the reporting period.
Environmental Figures
Several environmental metrics increased in 2025, largely tracking Nio’s higher production volume.
The company’s environmental data scope expanded in 2025 to include its F3 and E2 facilities, as well as the Nio Power Europe Plant established in Hungary nearly four years ago — meaning some absolute increases reflect a broader set of sites being counted rather than higher activity alone.
