BEIJING — Nio’s greatest problem proper now is ensuring that supply chains are secure, CEO William Li instructed CNBC.
The Chinese language electrical carmaker has needed to cost prospects extra as a result of hovering costs of uncooked supplies.
When Covid controls in April prevented Nio’s from getting elements from suppliers, the corporate needed to briefly droop manufacturing. However the firm stated it was in a position to restart some manufacturing a couple of days later.
Nonetheless, as of Thursday, Li nonetheless described the general state of auto manufacturing in China as within the technique of restoration whereas Shanghai and different elements of the nation stay underneath Covid controls.
On the gross sales entrance, Li stated he expects shopper demand for electrical vehicles to persist — even when the Chinese language authorities reduces subsidies or different coverage help for the sector.
Nio delivered greater than 5,000 vehicles in April regardless of Covid restrictions, albeit down sharply from almost 10,000 car deliveries in March.
Passenger automobile gross sales fell by 35.5% year-on-year in April, however new power automobiles — which embrace battery-powered electrical vehicles — noticed gross sales surge by 78.4%, in line with the China Passenger Automotive Affiliation.
Nio’s Southeast Asia plans
Li, who is additionally Nio’s founder and chairman, was talking in an interview with CNBC’s Emily Tan ahead of the company’s secondary listing in Singapore.
On Friday, Nio carried out a secondary listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange by way of introduction — which differs from an initial public offering as no new capital is raised and less paperwork is required.
Instead, the listing primarily allows investors to trade the company’s shares on an exchange other than the main trading venue.
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But Li said Nio plans to export cars to Southeast Asia and open a research and development center in Singapore in the near future for artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. He did not provide specific dates.
So far, the company has focused much of its overseas expansion on Europe, primarily in Norway.
The start-up’s main trading venue remains the NYSE, where the company held its initial public offering in 2018.
U.S.-listed shares of Nio have climbed by about 150% since that IPO — a volatile three-plus years that’s included several quarterly plunges and one full year in 2020 that saw a surge of over 1,100%.
