Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
On the same day that NIO will report its Q4 and 2021 Earnings Results, the company announced that the first batch of NIO ET7 production vehicles was officially rolled off the production line at Hefei. “The car that everyone has been waiting for for a long time is coming soon” — NIO said. On March 18, our site revealed the photos of the first ET7 rolling off production being expected to have a 6 months delivery time, according to our local source. NIO started ET7 test drives on March 5th and will deliver the first units on March 28th.
“The manufacture of each ET7 has gone through the production process of stamping, body, painting, and final assembly in four workshops. It has undergone rigorous multiple testing processes, and finally reached the mass production standard.” — the company added.
NIO also warns for the Covid-19 impacts on the deliveries after some Chinese cities being under close attention for the virus spread.
“It needs to be explained to everyone that due to the certain impact of the epidemic, the delivery times in each region will be different. Your delivery specialist will maintain communication with you to confirm the specific delivery time.”
On March 23, NIO’s Europe Vice-President was among the keynote speakers at the SMMT Electrified 2022 conference held in London, United Kingdom. Hui Zhang, that works for NIO since January 2016, enhanced the advantages of the Battery-as-a-Service.
Battery-as-a-Service enables separate ownership of an electric vehicle from the battery pack: it means you can swap the battery, but most important is that it’s upgradable.
Hui Zhang, NIO’s Europe Vice-President
Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao lowered NIO’s price target to $34 from $66 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The new 12-month price target represents a 48% cut from the previous one ($66) posted on December, 2021.
Deutsche Bank analyst Edison Yu released on Sunday a note lowering NIO’s price target from $70 to $50, maintaining the Buy rating — an upside of 139.7% for the next 12 months. The analyst added that “the main risks for NIO are supply chain constraints and regulatory scrutiny.” Yu also warned on “supplier shortages for chips and battery cells” that can limit NIO’s sales growth.
According to a video posted on TikTok, NIO has thousands of models parked at NIO’s Hefei Factory, in China. The company has been keeping the secrets indoors without unveiling pre-orders numbers, test-drives scheduled, or other relevant numbers and JAC x NIO Factory is not an exception. The EV manufacturer will launch its new five-seater SUV in mid-April and will show it to the public at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show. The international automotive exhibition will take place at the China International Exhibition Center of Beijing from April 21st to April 30th.
NIO announced on March 1st that delivered 6,131 vehicles during last month.February deliveries are often affected by the Chinese Spring Festival Hollidays where the factories usually close from January 31st to February 6th.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com