Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio has merged several regional management roles across its Nio and Onvo brands as it continues to reduce costs and streamline operations.
According to a report by Sina Technology, Nio has appointed a single general manager to oversee both the Nio and Onvo brands in each region. Previously, the brands had separate managers for each territory.
The general managers for Nio’s Tianjin and Dalian regional companies have resigned citing “personal reasons” and were replaced by the respective Onvo regional heads, who will now hold dual roles.
Similar consolidations have occurred in Hangzhou and Wenzhou, with existing Nio general managers now also managing Onvo operations in those cities. All of the regional executives report jointly to Nio Group co-founder and president Lihong Qin and the recently appointed Onvo president, Shen Fei.
The restructuring follows the departure of Onvo chief Alan Ai on the same day that March figures were reported. The brand’s number two and Head of User and Service Operations, Xia Qinghua, transitioned last month to a new role within the Nio Group.
Despite a strong month for the group overall, Onvo sales remain under pressure. Nio delivered 23,900 electric vehicles in April — its second-highest monthly total — including 4,400 units of the Onvo L60.
Onvo sales fell 8.7% from March despite the introduction of new purchase incentives.
Onvo deliveries reached nearly 6,000 in January, 4,049 in February and 4,820 in March — well below the target of 16,000 units in January and 20,000 in March communicated late last year.
In one of the media sessions at the Shanghaiu Auto Show, Lihong Qin said the brand “did not reach the goals we had previously set for ourselves, and we also did not meet the expectations that the outside world had for us.”
However, the executive also argued that sales haven’t been “that badly”, averaging 6,000 units per month during the first six months on the market.
In April, Onvo also unveiled its second model, the L90, a three-row SUV. While the company has yet to disclose full specifications, pricing, or an exact delivery timeline, President Lihong Qin said initial deliveries are expected to begin between the second half of August and September.
Firefly, Nio’s third brand, began deliveries on April 29 and recorded 231 units sold in the final days of the month.
Nio aims to more than double group-wide deliveries to 440,000 vehicles in 2025. As of the end of April, cumulative deliveries stood at 65,994 units, up 44.5% from the same period last year.
