Chinese EV maker Nio delivers 20,176 cars in August, up 4.4% from previous year

CHINESE electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio delivered 20,176 vehicles in August, 4.4 per cent more than the corresponding year-ago period. This is also the fourth straight month which the company has delivered more than 20,000 cars.

But it was a nudge lower than the 20,498 cars delivered in July.

The deliveries include 11,923 premium smart electric sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and 8,253 premium smart electric sedans, the manufacturer said in an update on Sunday (Sep 1).

Year-to-date, Nio has delivered 128,100 vehicles in 2024, up 35.8 per cent from the previous year. The cumulative deliveries of its vehicles has reached 577,694 as at Aug 31.

In March, Nio signed a partnership agreement with battery giant CATL to develop longer-life batteries as part of its efforts to lower the costs of its vehicles. It also announced then that it would lower the rental costs of its battery rental service, which allows users to purchase the body of the vehicle and rent the battery from Nio separately, at a monthly fee.

Since then, the company’s deliveries have grown, and more users have opted into the programme. Nio co-founder and president Qin Lihong said at a briefing last month that more than 70 per cent of its users have opted for the battery rental service.

Shares of the EV carmaker jumped 11.3 per cent to US$4.33 last Friday, ahead of the update.