Nio had hoped that ET7 deliveries would come to a higher level in July, but parts availability has caused thousands of ET7s that could have been delivered to not be delivered.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Deliveries of Nio's flagship sedan ET7 have grown rapidly in the past two months since they began on March 28, bringing high expectations.

But the model seems to be facing supply chain problems, as the company's helmsman tries to keep people from expecting too much.

Previously Nio faced pressure on its supply chain mainly with chips as well as smart hardware, and in July the company suffered some more blows, said William Li, Nio founder, chairman and CEO, at Nio Partner Day 2022 held on July 30.

"With the Nio ET7 and some other models that use advanced processes, the company has suffered a bottleneck in capacity for parts in casting," Li said, according to a video shared by local media outlet Laoban Lianbo.

Nio delivered more than 4,000 ET7 vehicles in June, and the company had hoped to see that number come to a higher level in July, but thousands of units that could have been delivered were not delivered because some parts were not available in the required quantity, according to Li.

As background, Nio began deliveries of the ET7 on March 28, with 163 units delivered in March. Deliveries of the sedan reached 693 units in April and 1,707 units in May.

In June, ET7 deliveries were 4,349 units, ranking No. 7 in China in sales of premium sedans starting at more than RMB 300,000 ($44,820), according to data released earlier this month by the China Passenger Car Association.

The Nio ET7 was available for pre-order early last year, and many customers are having to wait months for delivery, Li said at yesterday's event.

Nio is subsidizing Nio Credits for late deliveries as part of its efforts to maintain customer loyalty. The last bonus the company wants to give out is a late delivery allowance, Li said.

"I'm here to ask our partners involved to help us take this pressure off, please," he said.

Nio delivered 12,961 vehicles in June, its record high for deliveries in a single month, surpassing the previous record of 10,878 vehicles last November, according to data released on July 1.

The company's deliveries in July are expected to be announced on Monday, August 1.

NIO ET7 moves up two spots to 7th in top 10 premium sedan sales in China in June