NIO
stock was rising after the Chinese maker of electric vehicles revealed a new car designed for the high end of the market. The bigger deal, though, might be the technology it unveiled as well.
On Saturday, NIO gave shoppers a glimpse of the ET9, which it describes as “a Smart Electric Executive Flagship,” one that will set the purchaser back about $112,000. It’s a beautiful car, if the pictures are to be believed. It’s a four-seater, with each seat designed as its own space—the pictures make it look like first-class on an airplane.
The market for $100,000-plus cars, however, isn’t all that large. The more expensive Model X and S vehicles from
Tesla
typically account for 3% to 5% of total
Tesla
sales. The bigger deal for NIO seems to be the technology that NIO is using in the car, much of it designed in-house. As Barron’s Al Root noted in his stock pick of
BYD,
companies that can produce their own technology are likely to fetch a premium from investors. That’s one reason Tesla stock has outperformed nearly all others, including BYD, which has similar fundamentals. And the tech looks good, at least as far as
BofA,
which called it “’industry-leading vehicle technology,” is concerned.
The ET9 is expected to be delivered during the first three months of 2025, but that hasn’t stopped NIO stock from jumping now. Its shares were up 9% in midday trading, while the
S&P 500
was up 0.3%. Meanwhile, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
Nasdaq Composite
were up 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively.
With the Tuesday gain, NIO shares were still down about 9% over the past 12 months. Shares of peers
XPeng
and
Li Auto
were up about 44% and 87%, respectively. Starting from a relatively depressed level is another reason NIO shares are up following the reveal.
NIO has grown deliveries faster than
XPeng.
Through November, NIO has delivered about 142,000 units, up about 33% year over year. XPeng has delivered about 122,000 units, up about 11% year over year.
Li has grown the fastest, delivering some 326,000 units, up about 190% year over year.
Delivery size aligns with market capitalization. Li’s market cap is about $36 billion, while those of NIO and Li are at about $15 billion and $13 billion, respectively.
Write to Ben Levisohn at [email protected] and Al Root at [email protected]
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