What happened
Shares of Nio (NIO 6.79%) continued to bounce from 52-week lows this week. Heading into Friday's trading session, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker's stock was nearly 14% higher for the week, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
Nio reported its May 2022 delivery data Wednesday, and the numbers were somewhat disappointing. But some headwinds may be in the rearview mirror now that Chinese cities including Shanghai are reopening after being locked down to stem a new wave of COVID-19 cases. Those lockdowns stymied some production for many Chinese automakers as parts suppliers halted operations. But things should start improving from here, and investors jumped into the stock this week in anticipation.
Image source: Nio.
Now what
The production delays impacted automakers throughout China, but peers XPeng and Li Auto both delivered notably more vehicles than Nio last month. Nio delivered 7,024 EVs, which was an increase of only 5% versus May 2021. XPeng and Li delivered 10,125 and 11,496, respectively. That represented a year-over-year jump of 78% for XPeng and 166% for Li Auto.
But that seems to be where the bad news ended for Nio. The company said it plans to ramp up its production capacity following "strong order inflow" and the easing of lockdowns that affected suppliers. It also said it plans "to accelerate the delivery recovery starting from June" with the situation improving. Investors seem to be looking forward, and that helped the stock run up this week. Nio watchers will next focus on its first-quarter financial and operational update coming next Thursday, June 9.
