Morgan Stanley – NIO’s ‘pricing of ET5 Touring is more competitive,’ reiterates Overweight rating

Morgan Stanley reiterated an Overweight rating on Nio Inc (NYSE:) with a 12-month price target of $12.00 after the Chinese electric automaker announced the pricing for its ET5 Touring at 298K (RMB 1 = $0.1402) and RMB 356K for the 75kwh and 100kwh versions, respectively, while the BaaS version will sell for RMB 228K.

Similar to other NIO models after recent price cuts, users can opt for an RMB 30K package to enjoy four power swaps per month. The ET5 Touring is being launched simultaneously in six countries (China, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway,and Sweden) with deliveries starting tomorrow.

Analysts wrote in a note, “Pricing of ET5 Touring is more competitive than we thought – on par with the incumbent ET5 sedan at RMB 298k+. While the segment could be relatively niche, management thinks ET5 Touring is likely to outsell its sedan version. ET5 sedan and Touring and new ES6 will dominate NIO’s sales.”

The company also revealed its plans to launch a beta test of their NAD ADAS system in the 3Q. The system is designed for city scenarios and built on the BEV architecture. This strategic move aims to directly confront the competition posed by other electric vehicle startups, as numerous EV manufacturers are set to introduce their own City navigation on autopilot features later this year.

Shares of NIO are up 7.29% in mid-day trading on Thursday.