What happened
Chinese electric-vehicle (EV)-maker Nio (NIO 4.81%) reported its January 2022 vehicle deliveries today, and investors had a mixed reaction. Nio said its EV deliveries jumped more than 30% year over year for the month but results dropped sequentially from December 2021.
Nio's American depositary shares initially dropped after the news, moving as much as 4% below Monday's closing price. But the shares bounced off of the day's low and were trading 1.5% higher as of 11:37 a.m. ET.
So what
Nio delivered 9,652 for the month of January, but investors may have first reacted to the fact that its rival XPeng topped that with shipments of almost 13,000 electric vehicles. That more than doubled year over year and may be why investors initially didn't take Nio's results well. But Nio also gave investors some updates that could have shifted sentiment.
Nio gave its Norway customers a new version of its smart operating system. Image source: Nio.
Now what
Nio reported 10,489 vehicle deliveries in December 2021, so last month's results represented a sequential decline of 8%. While its January shipments were still 34% higher than what it reported in January 2021, the decline from December and slowing growth seem to be weighing on the stock. Nio shares are down more than 20% so far in 2022.
But today's reversal in the stock likely comes from investors looking forward, rather than back. Nio began deliveries in Norway last year and just announced its first over-the-air operating-system update, developed exclusively for its customers there.
The company also told investors that it's been accelerating the rollout of its power, sales, and service network. Those updates, along with previously announced plans for three new products coming in 2022, may have been enough to get investors back behind the stock today.
