Chinese electric vehicle maker NIO provided its January 2020 delivery results.
NIO delivered 1,598 vehicles in January 2020, 11.5% lower than the same month last year. This decrease was primarily due to the reduction in business days in January due to the comparatively earlier Chinese New Year holiday in 2020. The extended holiday due to the unfortunate outbreak of the novel coronavirus first identified in Wuhan, China also affected our sales results.
January 2020 deliveries consisted of 1,493 ES6s, the Company’s 5-seater high-performance premium electric SUV, and 105 ES8s, the Company’s 7-seater high-performance premium electric SUV and its 6-seater variant.
Total aggregate deliveries of the ES6 and the ES8 reached 33,511 vehicles.
“We achieved satisfactory results in January despite the outbreak of novel coronavirus,” said William Bin Li, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of NIO. “During this period, the safety of our employees and users remains our top priority. I would like to thank our users and employees for their great support for the impacted society. Additionally, the NIO User Trust has decided to donate RMB5 million to support the well-being of NIO users and others in need during the epidemic, demonstrating love and care for our user community and the general public.
“Meanwhile, our teams strive to keep certain operations running during the extended Chinese New Year holiday, including necessary services and sales and marketing efforts through various forms of online sales channels such as our NIO App and other online live streaming platforms,” concluded Mr. Li.
Steven Feng, chief financial officer of NIO, added, “Looking ahead to February, we expect a reduction in vehicle production and deliveries, compared to the months of peak sales last year, as the Chinese government postponed the return to work from Chinese New Year holiday for most businesses across the country in an effort to fight the outbreak. We will keep monitoring the situation and continue being part of the joint efforts from the government and all parties in China and across the world against the outbreak.”
In a related news, NIO said it has inked deals to raise $100 million. NIO has entered into definitive transaction documents with an unaffiliated Asia based investment fund, pursuant to which NIO will issue and sell convertible notes in an aggregate principal amount of US$70 million through a private placement. The convertible notes are to be issued pursuant to an indenture to be entered into on the closing date between NIO and The Bank of New York Mellon, London Branch, as trustee. The closing of this placement is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to occur on or around February 10, 2020. In addition, NIO completed a similar transaction worth $30 million with another unaffiliated fund last month. The combined aggregate principal amount of the convertible notes issued in the foregoing two placements is around US$100 million.
NIO is currently working on several other financing projects, the outcome of which is uncertain at this stage.
