Nio guided for second-quarter deliveries of between 54,000 and 56,000 units, meaning June deliveries are expected to be between 17,836 and 19,836 units.

The first quarter of the year is usually the weakest for China's auto sales due to the traditional Chinese New Year holiday. And this year, a deteriorating price war has put the industry in an even tougher position.

Nio originally guided for first-quarter vehicle deliveries to be between 31,000 and 33,000 units when it announced its fourth-quarter 2023 results on March 5.

However, on March 27, as the first quarter drew to a close, the company lowered that guidance to about 30,000 vehicles, reflecting the challenges it faced in the quarter.

Nio's vehicle sales in the first quarter were RMB 8.38 billion, a decrease of 9.1 percent year-on-year and a decrease of 45.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

That year-on-year decline was mainly due to a lower average selling price as a result of user rights adjustments since June 2023, as well as lower deliveries, while the year-on-year decline was mainly due to lower deliveries, which was affected by seasonal factors, it said.

Its cost of sales in the first quarter was RMB 9.42 billion, down 10.4 percent year-on-year and down 40.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023. The decline was mainly attributed to lower material costs per vehicle and lower delivery volume, Nio said.

The company reported a net loss of RMB 5.18 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 9.4 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 3.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Excluding share-based compensation expenses, non-GAAP adjusted net loss was RMB 4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 18.1 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and an increase of 2.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Net loss attributable to Nio ordinary shareholders for the first quarter was RMB 5.26 billion, an increase of 9.5 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 6.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Its non-GAAP adjusted net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders for the first quarter was RMB 4.9 billion.

Nio reported gross profit of RMB 488 million in the first quarter, an increase of 200.5 percent year-on-year and a decrease of 61.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Gross margin for the first quarter was 4.9 percent, down from 7.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, but better than analysts' expectations of 4.7 percent. It had a gross margin of 1.5 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

It had a vehicle margin of 9.2 percent in the first quarter compared to 5.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and 11.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The increase in vehicle margin from the first quarter of 2023 was primarily attributable to lower unit cost of materials, and the decrease from the fourth quarter was primarily due to lower average selling prices as a result of increased promotions during the product transition and changes in product mix, partially offset by lower unit cost of materials.

It spent RMB 2.86 billion on research and development in the first quarter, the first time since the third quarter of 2022 that it was below RMB3 billion. This represents a decrease of 6.9 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 27.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

Excluding equity incentive expenses, non-GAAP research and development expenses were RMB 2.66 billion, a decrease of 2.0 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 26.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2023.

The decrease in research and development expenses over the first quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2023 was mainly due to decreased design and development costs resulting from different stages of development for new products and technologies, and decreased personnel costs in research and development functions in the first quarter of 2024, Nio said.

As of March 31, Nio's balance of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term investments and long-term time deposits was RMB 45.3 billion.

Nio guided second-quarter deliveries to be between 54,000 and 56,000 units, implying that June deliveries are expected to be between 17,836 and 19,836 units, considering that it delivered 15,620 and 20,544 units in April and May, respectively.

It guided second-quarter revenue to be between RMB 16.59 billion and RMB 17.14 billion, an increase of about 89.1 percent to 95.3 percent from the same period in 2023.

Nio changes strategy on 3rd brand Firefly, 1st model to debut in China instead of Europe, report says