Weilai’s Q1 revenue was 9.91 billion yuan, and ES7 was launched this month and delivered in August

On June 9, NIO released its financial report for the first quarter of 2022.The data shows that in the first quarter, NIO achieved a total revenue of 9.91 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.2%, which was basically the same as the fourth quarter of 2021; the net loss was 1.78 billion yuan, an increase of 295.3% compared with the same period in 2021, but the fourth quarter of the previous year. The quarter narrowed, down 16.8%.

Image source: Weilai Automobile

Among them, vehicle sales in the first quarter were 9.24 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24.8%, and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2021. This is closely related to the continued good growth of NIO deliveries in the first quarter.According to relevant statistics, NIO delivered a total of 25,768 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 28.5% and a month-on-month increase of 2.9%.Among them, ES8 delivered 4,341 units, ES6 delivered 13,620 units, EC6 and ET7 delivered 7,644 units and 163 units respectively.

Despite this, NIO's overall gross profit and gross profit margin in the first quarter still declined to a certain extent, to 1.45 billion yuan and 14.6% respectively, of which gross profit decreased by 6.9% compared with the first quarter of 2021, compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. A decline of 14.9%, while gross profit margins were 19.5% and 17.2% in the first and fourth quarters of last year, respectively.

NIO pointed out that this was mainly due to the decline in its vehicle gross profit margin and the expansion of investment in power and service networks.In the first quarter of this year, the gross profit margin of NIO vehicles was only 18.1%, compared with 21.2% and 20.9% in the first and fourth quarters of 2021, respectively.Weilai said that the decline in vehicle gross profit margin compared with the first quarter of 2021 was mainly due to the change in the proportion of product mix, which led to a decrease in the average selling price.

According to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) "Global Electric VehicleOutlook 2022" report, by May this year, the price of lithium was seven times higher than at the beginning of 2021, the price of cobalt more than doubled, and the price of nickel almost rose. Doubling, which has a direct impact on battery prices.Previously, many battery companies including CATL and BYD have raised the price of power batteries.Continued high metal prices could mean battery prices will rise 15% this year, the IEA noted.

Due to the continuous rise in raw material prices, since May 10, Weilai has adjusted the starting prices of ES8, ES6, and EC6 models, and the starting prices of the three models have all increased by 10,000 yuan.Then on May 13, NIO released the price adjustment instructions of NIO ET7, saying that the price of ET7 will be adjusted, specifically, the starting price of all ET7 models will be increased by 10,000 yuan.

Despite the challenges, NIO is still full of confidence in the overall performance of the second quarter. It is expected that the vehicle delivery volume in the second quarter will be between 23,000 and 25,000, an increase of approximately 5.0% to 14.2% compared to the same period last year; The total revenue was 9.34 billion yuan to 9.34 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of about 10.6% to 19.4%.It is worth noting that in the past April and May, Weilai has delivered 5,074 and 7,024 vehicles respectively, which means that the delivery volume of Weilai in June is expected to exceed 10,000 again.

Image source: Weilai Automobile

To help achieve this goal, on June 15, NIO will officially release the new mid-to-large five-seat SUV ES7 based on the NT2.0 platform, which will further enrich the company's product portfolio and launch it simultaneously.According to industryforecasts, with reference to the price of NIO ES6 at 368,000-536,000 yuan, the ES8 price starts at 478,000 yuan, and the price of NIO ES7 may be around 400,000 yuan. The new car will be delivered in late August.

At the same time, NIO is also actively promoting the mass production of ET5, and it is expected to start delivering ET5 in September 2022. Previously, the first batch of ET5 full-process production line trial-produced vehicles rolled off the production line at the new manufacturing plant in NeoPark, Hefei at the end of April.

With the continuous improvement of the product system, in order to give end consumers a better car experience, NIO is also continuing to strengthen technology research and development.In the third quarter of this year, NIO will launch the NOP+ enhanced navigation assistance function based on the self-developed high-precision map jointly developed with its partners to further consolidate the foundation for NAD to achieve a better autonomous driving experience.

Image source: Weilai Automobile

In addition, Weilai said that it will also increase its investment in the field of power batteries.It is understood that NIO has formed a team of more than 400 people to deeply develop the core technology of full-stack batteries, involving battery materials, battery cell and whole package design, battery management system research and development, battery manufacturing and other links, in order to comprehensively build and enhance batteries. Systematize R&D and industrialization capabilities to enhance product competitiveness and profitability.

Its self-developed battery is planned to be installed on the new brand model. The new brand will focus on the range of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. It will be built on the NT3.0 platform and support high-voltage fast charging technology. It is planned to be mass-produced and delivered in the second half of 2024.