Nio shares rose in premarket trading Friday after CEO William Li outlined plans to be present across “40 countries and regions” by year-end and said the company’s one-millionth vehicle will roll off the production line “in just a few days.”
US-listed shares of the Shanghai-based automaker jumped 5.5% to $5.38 during Friday’s pre-market session, the first trading day after Nio reported record December deliveries and nearly reached the top end of its fourth-quarter guidance.
In an internal letter to staff on New Year’s Day, first reported by Chinese media outlet LatePost, Li said the company has “no room for complacency” as it opens “a new cycle of high-speed growth.” [full letter available below]
Nio closed 2025 with 997,592 cumulative deliveries since handing over its first vehicle in June 2018.
Global Expansion
Li said the group will continue to enter new markets in 2026. Costa Rica, Australia, and Azerbaijan are among the countries Nio will expand to later this year.
“In 2026, while continuing to focus on the Chinese market, we will steadily advance global expansion,” Li wrote. “Through the national distributor model and with Firefly as the pioneering brand, we plan to cumulatively enter 40 countries and regions.”
Cost Discipline
The CEO emphasized operational efficiency and cost control as the company works toward profitability.
“We will further deepen organizational reform, continuously improve company-wide systems for user value creation and efficient operations, strengthen cost control capabilities, and reinforce ROI awareness,” Li wrote. “Every yuan must be spent wisely.”
“In the automotive industry, competition is a long-term race with a 3–5 times efficiency gap. Only companies with industry-leading operational efficiency can survive,” he added.
A year ago, Nio set a target of reaching non-GAAP profitability by the fourth quarter of 2025. The company is expected to release its Q4 financial results in March.
Over the last four years, Nio reported its Q4 earnings results between the first and the 24th day of March.
Battery Swap Network
Li said Nio will continue investing in its charging and battery swap infrastructure, with fifth-generation swap stations beginning large-scale construction in the second quarter.
“The full-year plan includes more than 1,000 new swap stations, with total stations exceeding 4,600 by year-end,” Li wrote.
Nio started 2025 with the goal of building 2,000 battery swap stations.
Later in the year, it trimmed the target to a range of between 1,800 and 2,000. In September, the EV maker’s founder admitted the goal wouldn’t be met.
The company will also advance its “Battery Swap County Access” initiative and build more than 100 additional “Charging Wind & Snow Route” facilities.
The fifth generation battery swap stations are currently being tested in China with mass production planned to begin in the next few months.
Market Outlook
Li expressed confidence in the long-term outlook for fully electric vehicles, predicting they will dominate China’s auto market by the end of the decade.
“By 2030, new energy vehicles will account for over 90% of China’s new car market, with pure electric vehicles exceeding 80% of new energy sales,” Li wrote.
“Our 12 years of accumulated technological capabilities and advantages in charging and battery swap infrastructure will gain increasing user recognition,” he added.
In the first 11 months of 2025, pure electric vehicles accounted for 61.9% of the new energy market in China, with growth significantly outpacing hybrids and plug-in hybrids, according to the letter.
New Models
Li said Nio will launch three new models in 2026, which he believes will increase market share in the premium large-vehicle segment.
The company will release a new flagship SUV ES9, the Onvo L80, and the new generation ES7 — a five seat SUV under the Nio brand.
The CEO also highlighted upcoming improvements to Nio‘s intelligent driving systems, saying the Nio World Model “has achieved new breakthroughs in algorithm architecture and training paradigms, with multiple major versions launching this year.”
Delivery Results
Nio Group delivered 326,028 vehicles in 2025, up 47% from 2024. The company reached a new monthly record in December with 48,135 units, including 31,897 from the core Nio brand, 9,154 from Onvo, and 7,084 from Firefly.
Fourth-quarter deliveries reached 124,807 units, landing within the company’s revised guidance of 120,000 to 125,000 vehicles — just 193 units below the high end.
Nio had originally targeted 150,000 units for the quarter before lowering guidance in November.
The EV maker’s shares fell 7.2% on the last trading day of 2025, closing the year with a gain of approximately 17%.
Below is the full internal letter first reported by the local media outlet:
“Dear colleagues,
Competition in the intelligent electric vehicle industry has entered the knockout stage. The pace of technological upgrading and iteration is accelerating, and market competition pressure will continue to rise.
The harsher the environment, the more we must maintain strategic focus — neither reckless nor self-deceptive — stay true to our original intent and focus on execution.
Our confidence comes from 11 years of sustained investment in technological innovation and battery swap infrastructure, as well as from the market continuously validating that the technological path we chose aligns with the correct trends and direction.
In the first 11 months of 2025, pure electric vehicles accounted for 61.9% of the new energy market, with growth significantly outpacing hybrids and plug-in hybrids.
As technology advances and infrastructure improves, the experience advantages of pure electric vehicles will be further amplified, particularly in key segments such as large SUVs, where charging inconvenience is accelerating the arrival of the pure-electric era.
By 2030, new energy vehicles will account for over 90% of China’s new car market, with pure electric vehicles exceeding 80% of new energy sales.
Our 12 years of accumulated technological capabilities and advantages in charging and battery swap infrastructure will gain increasing user recognition.
In 2025, we gradually emerged from the trough and entered the third stage of company development, opening a new cycle of high-speed growth. However, we have no room for complacency.
In 2026, we must continue to endure, consolidate our foundations, and build strength for both current and long-term development.
We will continue to make resolute investments across the 12 core full-stack intelligent electric vehicle technologies to ensure product and technology leadership.
In 2026, we will launch three new models, which we believe will further increase our market share in the premium large-vehicle segment.
The Nio World Model has achieved new breakthroughs in algorithm architecture and training paradigms, with multiple major versions launching this year to comprehensively enhance intelligent driving assistance experiences.
NOMI Intelligence will undergo important iterations, further strengthening competitiveness in intelligent experiences.
We will continue to invest firmly in charging and battery swap infrastructure.
Starting in the second quarter, fifth-generation battery swap stations will begin large-scale construction.
The full-year plan includes more than 1,000 new swap stations, with total stations exceeding 4,600 by year-end. “Battery Swap County Access” will continue to advance, and more than 100 additional “Charging Wind & Snow Route” facilities will be built.
At the same time, we will enhance the energy commercial operation capabilities of the charging and battery swap network, laying a solid foundation for the profitability of the battery swap business.
We will further strengthen sales and service network construction to ensure our capabilities can respond to intensifying competition.
In 2026, while deeply cultivating key markets, Nio, Onvo, and firefly will jointly accelerate channel expansion, achieving sales and service network coverage in more than 210 prefecture-level regions.
In 2026, while continuing to focus on the Chinese market, we will steadily advance global expansion.
Through the national distributor model and with firefly as the pioneering brand, we plan to cumulatively enter 40 countries and regions.
We will further deepen organizational reform, continuously improve company-wide systems for user value creation and efficient operations, strengthen cost control capabilities, and reinforce ROI awareness.
Every yuan must be spent wisely. In the automotive industry, competition is a long-term race with a 3–5 times efficiency gap.
Only companies with industry-leading operational efficiency can survive.
Colleagues, in just a few days, our one-millionth mass-produced vehicle will roll off the production line.
User support has always been the driving force behind our progress and the foundation for winning competition.
Please continue to uphold the original intent of being a user-centric enterprise, and repay user trust with better products, better services, and better operating results.
A toast to the sun; success comes through long-term effort. Our journey is a marathon on a muddy road. Let us focus on action and face the challenges ahead together.
Happy New Year — let’s power up together.”
