Chinese electric-vehicle maker NIO (NIO 11.65%) set another monthly record for deliveries in January, despite the arrival of serious competition from Tesla (TSLA -1.80%).
NIO said that it delivered 7,225 of its upscale electric vehicles (EVs) in January, beating its earlier record of 7,007 deliveries set in December after the company successfully boosted its production volume ahead of schedule.
Some auto investors had expected the automaker's order book to suffer with the launch of Tesla's locally made Model Y SUV, a direct competitor to NIO's mainstay ES6 and EC6 models. But despite the new entrant, sales of both NIOs remained strong in January.
The record delivery total caps an eventful January for the upstart EV manufacturer that included a round of financing and the reveal of a new sedan model.
NIO's CEO, William Bin Li, showed the upcoming ET7 sedan at an event on Jan. 9. Image source: NIO.
On Jan. 9, NIO showed its next new model, a technology-packed luxury sedan called the ET7 that will be the company's flagship. Set to go into production in about a year, the ET7 incorporates a new sensor suite and enough on-board computing power to support the company's next-generation hands-free driving software, as well as NIO's new 150 kilowatt-hour battery pack.
The company also closed a $1.5 billion convertible-bond offering on very favorable terms (half the bonds pay no interest; the others pay just 0.50% per year) on Jan. 19.
NIO is expected to report its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings later this month.
