What happened
Shares of Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NIO 3.49%) were moving lower on Thursday. As of 1:30 p.m. ET, the company's American depositary shares were down about 2.3% from Wednesday's closing price.
There was no bad news driving the shares lower. But we did learn today that the company has begun hiring assembly line workers for its second factory, expected to begin production later this year.
So what
Nio doesn't own a factory directly; its vehicles are built in a plant owned by a joint venture between it and its manufacturing partner, state-owned automaker Jianghuai Automobile Group. The two said last year that they would collaborate on a second factory, to be part of an electric vehicle industrial district called "NeoPark" in the city of Hefei, where Nio's headquarters is located.
Nio's new factory will be part of a development called NeoPark. The new factory is shown on the left in this illustration released by the company last year. Image source: Nio.
Construction of that factory began in the second quarter of 2021, and Nio began the process of installing equipment and machinery in the building in November. And now it's time to hire workers.
CNEVPost reported on Thursday that Nio has posted "dozens" of factory job listings on its Chinese-language site, seeking workers for assembly line roles as well as logistics and operations functions.
That's not necessarily surprising news. But it does show that the plant is on track to begin full production in September, and that's obviously good news for Nio -- which is seeing more demand than it can easily fill from its current assembly line.
Now what
Nio had a relatively quiet year in 2021, and it lost a bit of ground to key competitors as a result. But 2022 is already looking very different: Nio will launch three new models this year, starting with its new ET7 flagship sedan in March, and it now looks like it will have this second plant up and running by fall.
Electric vehicle investors can look forward to learning more when Nio reports its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 results, likely in mid-February.
