Chinese auto startup Nio narrows loss to 451m yuan

Chinese electric vehicle startup Nio Inc reported a narrower first-quarter loss, while warning the global chip shortage will keep a lid on deliveries.

The Shanghai-based company posted a net loss of 451 million yuan (US$68.8 million) in the three months ended March 31, compared with 1.69 billion yuan a year earlier, it said in a statement. It also marked an improvement on the 1.39 billion yuan net loss it posted in the last quarter of 2020, Bloomberg reports.

Revenue rose to 7.98 billion yuan, beating estimates of 7.16 billion yuan.

Nio delivered 20,060 vehicles in the quarter, a 423 percent increase from a year earlier when China was plunged into lockdowns during the first outbreak of the coronavirus. It forecast deliveries of between 21,000 to 22,000 vehicles this quarter. Like the rest of the auto industry, Nio has been hit by the global chip shortage. The company suspended vehicle production for five days at the end of March.

“The overall demand for our products continues to be quite strong, but the supply chain is still facing significant challenges due to the semiconductor shortage,” Chief Executive Officer William Li said in the statement.

Nio shares dropped by 1 percent at US$38.59 in postmarket trading Thursday in New York. Before the earnings release, the stock closed down by 5.3 percent at US$38.99.