In 2023, Nio’s cumulative deliveries were 160,038 vehicles, up 30.66% from 2022, when the company delivered 122,486 units. Nio sold 18,012 EVs in December, up 12.86% from November and 13.89% up year-on-year.
Nio surpassed its delivery guidance for December as it expected to sell only 16,000-17,000 vehicles, based on a Q4 estimate of 47k-49k. Cumulative deliveries of Nio vehicles reached 449,594 as of December 31.
Last month, Nio introduced an end-of-year sales push consisting of various perks for customers who buy their Nio vehicle before December 31, such as 30 free battery swaps and 5000 yuan (705 USD) for accessories. The benefit package also included one year of free NOP+ (Navigate on Pilot) autonomous driving system subscription. Customers had to pay the non-refundable deposit before year-end.
Nio’s CEO and co-founder William Li previously announced a 2023 target to double sales from 2022 to about 245k cars. This target was missed by about 90k vehicles, as the company delivered 160,038 cars in 2023.
Nio didn’t provide a delivery target for 2024. However, in the leaked supply chain memo, Nio internally told its suppliers they expect to deliver 230,000 Nio-badged cars in 2024.
The December deliveries comprised 12,048 premium electric SUVs and 5,964 electric sedans. Nio doesn’t provide sales breakdowns for models. However, we can estimate it based on CPCA data. Nio offers eight models in China, two of which are responsible for most sales: the ES6 SUV and ET5 sedan (including its station wagon version ET5T). In November, those models were responsible for 68% of Nio sales, according to CPCA.
There is one target Nio fulfilled. It planned to build 1,000 new swap stations (PSS) in 2023 in China and bring the total number to 2,300. Nio reached this milestone on December 21 ahead of schedule. As of today, the company operates 2,320 PSS in China. Also, on October 9, Nio surpassed the 30 million provided battery swaps milestone.
In Europe, the initial target was 120 PSS by the year’s end, which was later reiterated to 80. By the end of 2023, Nio had 35 PSS in Europe.
Besides slight facelifts of some existing models, Nio doesn’t plan to launch any new product in 2024. However, it will launch the new entry-level brand Alps (codename) in early 2024, with deliveries starting before the year’s end, according to Qin Lihong, Nio’s president.
Alps will be to Nio what Seat is to Volkswagen Group. The new brand will be independently operated with its R&D and management. It will target the crowded 200,000 yuan to 300,000 yuan (28,200 – 42,400 USD) mass market. The Alps will be launched in China first, and the first model might be an 800V SUV with a swappable 90 kWh battery, based on report and spy shots CarNewsChina obtained.
For 2025, Nio announced two main launches: The entry-level Firefly brand (codename), which, unlike the Alps, is Europe-first and will launch on the Old Continent before China early next year, Lihong confirmed last month. Firefly will focus on budget EVs so that it will be positioned even under the Alps.
The second main launch of 2025 will be the executive sedan ET9, unveiled on December 23 at Nio Day. The flagship EV started presale for 800,000 yuan (113,000 USD), but the first customer will have it delivered more than a year from now.
