EV maker Nio held the ceremony Tuesday at its F2 plant in Hefei, Anhui province, where its three factories are located.
The Shanghai-headquartered group produced its first mass-produced vehicle in May 2018 and launched two sub-brands in the last 18 months aimed at cheaper segments.
The one-millionth unit — a Nio ES8 in Nebula Green — was donated to the local Micius Quantum Foundation, with the EV maker saying that it will provide mobility support for leading experts in the quantum science field.
In December, the flagship premium SUV surpassed 40,000 cumulative deliveries in a month where the Group deliveries reached a new record.
The company said on January 1 that the model set “the fastest delivery record among BEVs priced above RMB400,000 in China” — equivalent to $57,200.
Nio Group is targeting 40-50% annual delivery growth going forward, founder and CEO William Li said Tuesday at a ceremony marking the rollout of the company’s one-millionth mass-produced vehicle.
2026 Target
Nio delivered 91,429 vehicles in 2021, 122,486 in 2022, 160,038 in 2023, and 221,970 in 2024 — a 38.7% year-over-year increase.
The company had initially targeted more than 440,000 deliveries in 2025, aiming to double the prior year’s figure.
In 2025, Nio Group delivered 326,028 vehicles across its three brands, up 46.9% year-over-year including 178,806 units under the premium Nio brand, 107,808 units under Onvo and 39,414 Firefly vehicles.
Fourth-quarter deliveries reached 124,807 units, up 71.7% year-over-year, with all three brands achieving record quarterly results.
Based on the 326,028 vehicles delivered across Nio‘s three brands in 2025, a 40% increase would bring 2026 deliveries to approximately 456,500 units.
A 50% jump would represent 489,000 vehicles — an average of 40,750 units per month.
After 100% growth in 2018–2022 and 30–40% growth from 2022 to the first half of 2025, the three brands together are targeting 40–50% annual growth going forward, Li said.
Q4 Profitability
Li reaffirmed that gross profit rose “by tens of billions [of yuan]” in Q4 and said costs are well controlled. The company remains confident about profitability, Li added.
Regarding whether Q4 2025 can be profitable, Li said he remains confident.
The company lost 2.7 billion yuan in Q3, and Q4 delivered more high-margin vehicles, but the final results are not yet available and are still pending final audit.
In early December, Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang said Nio will likely achieve its goal of reporting non-GAAP profit in the fourth quarter, driven by reduced R&D expenses and surging deliveries of its high-margin ES8 SUV.
The Shanghai-based EV maker expects vehicle gross margin to reach approximately 18% in the fourth quarter, Wang wrote in a research note.
The improvement — from 13.1% in Q3 and 12.2% in Q2 — reflects a favorable product mix with significant ES8 deliveries, the analyst said back then.
Li’s Outlook
Speaking with media at the event, Li said reaching the one-million milestone allows Nio to feel some self-affirmation.
However, he added that one million vehicles “is insignificant in the automotive industry” and still makes Nio “a very small company within China’s automotive landscape.”
“Can we get Nio’s China market share to 5%, 10%? Everyone will see a more grounded Nio going forward,” Li said.
“Long-termism is not an excuse for poor short-term execution. Nio is now one of the companies that calculates its accounts most meticulously,” he added.
As of press time, Nio‘s US-listed shares were trading 1.50% higher during Tuesday’s pre-market session at $4.86.
