In late March and April 2022, Nio's vehicle production and delivery have been impacted by the supply chain volatilities and a new wave of the Covid-19 outbreaks.

Nio delivered 5,074 vehicles in April, down 49 percent from 9,985 in March and down 29 percent from 7,102 in the same month last year, according to data released today.

The company delivered 4,381 SUVs in April, including 1,251 for the ES8, 1,878 for the ES6 and 1,252 for the EC6.

Nio's first sedan, the ET7, which began deliveries on March 28, delivered 693 units in April.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

As of April 30, Nio's cumulative deliveries were 197,912 units, it said. In January-April, Nio's deliveries were 30,842, an increase of about 14 percent compared to the same period last year.

Notably, on April 26, Nio announced that its 200,000th mass-produced vehicle, a blue ET7 sedan, rolled off the production line at the JAC-Nio Advanced Manufacturing Center in Hefei, Anhui province.

In late March and April 2022, Nio's vehicle production and delivery have been impacted by the supply chain volatilities and other constraints caused by a new wave of the Covid-19 outbreaks in certain regions in China, it said.

Vehicle production has been recovering gradually, Nio said, adding that it will closely monitor the situation and its impact on the company's business and financial conditions, and continue to work with its supply chain partners to accelerate the recovery of production to its full capacity.

On April 29, the first batch of tooling trial builds of the ET5 rolled off the production line at the new manufacturing plant at NeoPark in Hefei. The company expects to start delivery of the ET5 in September 2022, Nio added.

Shanghai, home to Nio's global headquarters, went into a phased lockdown on March 28, with production suspended at Tesla Giga Shanghai as well as a large number of parts suppliers.

Nio (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) said in a statement posted on its app on April 9 that it suspended production as Covid caused its supply chain partners in Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu and many other locations to stop production.

"Due to these factors, Nio's vehicle production has been suspended," the statement said, adding, "There will be a delay in the delivery of vehicles for many customers in the near future, and we ask for your understanding."

William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a response to the statement that the company had some parts out of supply in mid-March and was relying on some parts inventory while barely allowing production to support it until early April.

A lack of any one part would have prevented the vehicle from being produced, Li said, adding that the new outbreak in Shanghai and Jiangsu have left many partners unable to supply, so Nio had to suspend production.

On April 13, The Fly quoted Nomura analyst Martin Heung as saying that the suspension of Nio's production was limited to weekends and that production lines were still running on weekdays, albeit on a limited scale.

On April 14, the Economic Observer quoted an unnamed Nio insider as saying that the company's supply chain had recovered slightly and the Hefei production base was gradually resuming production.

It is also worth noting that Nio announced on April 10 that it would increase the prices of its vehicles as well as BaaS battery renting fees from May 10, saying this was due to the continued sharp increase in global raw material prices since this year.

Starting prices for all versions of the company's SUVs will be increased by RMB 10,000 ($1,570), while prices for the ET7 sedan, which began delivery at the end of March, and the ET5 sedan, which is expected to begin delivery in September, will remain unchanged.

Chinese state media Xinhua highlights NIO's production resumption