Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio (NYSE:NIO) said the ongoing shortage of microchips will slow its vehicle deliveries in the current second quarter.
Nio forecasts second-quarter deliveries of between 21,000 and 22,000 vehicles, for growth of 5% to 10%. That’s a significant slowdown from growth of 16% in this year’s first quarter, and 42% growth in the fourth and final quarter of 2020.
Despite challenges posed by the global microchip shortage, the company said its first sedan, the ET7, remains on track to launch in the first quarter of 2022.
Reporting its latest financial results, Nio said it delivered 20,060 vehicles in the first quarter, the most among U.S.-listed Chinese electric car makers. Nio said vehicle sales for the quarter amounted to $1.13 billion U.S. of revenue.
However, Nio faces increasing competition from American electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which has been steadily ramping up production in China. In the first quarter of this year, China’s share of Tesla’s global sales rose to 29% from 21% for all of 2020.
Nio reported a smaller-than-expected loss per share in the first quarter of four cents U.S. versus estimates of an 11-cent-U.S.-per-share loss that analysts had expected.
Vehicle margin, a measure of profitability, rose to 21.2% in the first quarter, up from 17.2% in the previous quarter. The increase was due mostly to consumers buying Nio’s driving assistance software and upgrading to a more expensive battery subscription plan.
Nearly 60% of all Nio users have chosen the company’s battery-as-a-service plan since its launch last August. Nio’s stock has fallen about 20% year-to-date to under $40 U.S. a share.
