NIO-SW (09866.HK) fell more than 5 percent to HKD29.46 after founder William Li guided that per-vehicle costs will rise another RMB2,000-3,000 in the second half, following a roughly RMB14,000 increase in the second quarter. The warning overshadowed the company's first adjusted net profit of RMB24.807 million, swung from a RMB4.125 billion loss a year earlier, as investors weighed whether margin can hold near 18.5 percent.
Shares of NIO-SW (09866.HK) tumbled more than 5 percent to HKD29.46 on Tuesday, as founder William Li's warning of another RMB2,000-3,000 rise in per-vehicle costs this half overshadowed the electric-vehicle maker's first adjusted profit.
"Pressure in China's auto market has been acute this year," Li said on the earnings call, adding that average cost per vehicle rose about RMB14,000 in the second quarter compared with the end of last year. The company expects per-vehicle costs to keep climbing by RMB2,000-3,000 in the second half, driven by higher prices for memory chips, batteries and bulk materials that have spilled over from AI data-center demand.
The stock opened down 2.12 percent and touched a session low of HKD29.3, with turnover of 1.9852 million shares worth HKD59.3841 million. Short selling reached HKD157.09 million, a ratio of 27.548 percent, reflecting bearish positioning ahead of the print.
NIO reported an adjusted net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of RMB24.807 million for the second quarter, compared with an adjusted net loss of RMB4.125 billion a year earlier. Total revenue rose 69.1 percent year over year to RMB32.1 billion, while vehicle gross margin widened to 18.5 percent from 10.3 percent, helped by the flagship ES8 and ES9 models, which each carry vehicle margins above 20 percent. Deliveries climbed 49.4 percent to 107,658 units, and the company ended the quarter with RMB56.7 billion in cash after generating positive operating and free cash flow.
The thinness of the profit — RMB24.8 million on RMB32.1 billion of revenue — underscores how much of the turnaround rests on holding margins as input costs climb. Management aims to keep vehicle margin near 18.5 percent in the third and fourth quarters through supply-chain negotiations and cost-structure work, even as the RMB2,000-3,000 per-car increase lands. NIO guided third-quarter revenue to grow 52.7 percent to 56.2 percent year over year and deliveries of 108,000 to 111,000 units, while targeting monthly deliveries above 40,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter.
The cost warning, which also pressured peer XPeng after its own results last week, tests whether NIO's first adjusted profit marks a durable inflection or a one-quarter milestone. Investors will watch the third-quarter report in November for whether vehicle margin holds near 18.5 percent against the additional RMB2,000-3,000 of per-car costs.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
