In 252 days, NIO's weekly sales increased from 1,000 to 10,000. How many tough battles does NIO still have to fight?

At the NIO House in Shanghai Xingye Taikoo Hui, even on weekday afternoons, there are still many customers looking at cars. A NIO salesperson who has changed into autumn and winter work uniforms said, "If you buy the new ES8 now, you'll get the car in April next year, but there are still many people placing orders."

Even though they know they'll have to wait a long time for the car, Lianxian Chuxing noticed that there were still many users and salespeople on-site making selections and paying deposits on their phones. The reason is that they were very satisfied with the test drive and test ride. They couldn't see other products in the short term that could better match their needs in terms of configuration, space, and price. At the same time, with the purchase tax guarantee and point compensation, they were willing to wait.

According to a revelation by well - known automotive blogger "Sun Shaojun" on Weibo, the combined sales of NIO's three brands exceeded 10,000 units in the third week of October. Among them, the NIO brand sold over 4,000 units. The combined sales of LeDao + Firefly exceeded 6,500 units, and the single - week delivery of the L90 model was nearly 3,500 units. This data has been indirectly confirmed by analysts from multiple institutions.

This was almost unimaginable even for DeepSeek more than half a year ago.

Back on February 9th this year, NIO only sold 1,470 units in a week. At that time, public opinion believed that NIO was going through a trough that was "deeper and longer than in 2019." It lost 6 billion yuan in the first quarter, the three - brand strategy was repeatedly questioned, and the stock price hit a record low. Few people believed that the two products, LeDao L90 and the new ES8, could quickly win market favor.

However, from selling a thousand units a week to exceeding 10,000 units, NIO's sales curve in the past 252 days has shown a steep upward trajectory. Climbing all the way from the trough at the beginning of the year, NIO's delivery volume exceeded 30,000 units in September, and the stock price hit new highs this year. NIO has gradually drawn an upward - rebounding curve.

There is no doubt about the value of this report card. It marks that NIO's adjustments in product and market strategies have achieved results. However, the delivery pressure that comes with the sharp increase in sales and the imminent profit target in Q4 clearly remind everyone: Although the dawn is emerging, the real tough battle has just begun.

Perseverance and Transformation: The Path to Profitability is Becoming Clear

According to a report by 21st Century Business Herald, the first item in NIO founder Li Bin's VAU (Target Management) for the fourth quarter of this year is to achieve the profit target in the fourth quarter.

He emphasized in a recent internal speech, "To make a profit, fundamentally, we need to sell more cars, not just cut costs." He broke down this goal into three specific actions: doing a good job in marketing key models, ensuring supply and reducing costs in the supply chain, and delivering high - quality software versions on time. "In the fourth quarter, we should focus on selling cars steadily, implementing cost - reduction measures effectively, and improving the user experience."

Behind NIO's sales turnaround in 255 days, there is no Hollywood - style narrative of a savior descending from the sky.

The turning point that has been repeatedly discussed occurred at the launch of the LeDao L90 at the end of July. This large pure - electric SUV targeting the family market precisely hit the consumer demand. It was delivered 21,626 units within two months of its launch, setting a record for the fastest delivery of a pure - electric large SUV. Then, the new ES8 launched by the NIO brand in September pushed the product benchmark of pure - electric three - row SUVs to a new height. Nearly 150,000 people took test drives within 10 days of its release, fully utilizing this year's production capacity. Firefly has emerged from the ridicule (referring to the "Six - eyed Flying Fish" rumor) and become a representative of high - quality small cars with monthly sales approaching 6,000 units.

Market analysts generally attribute the success to the leading product strength and the success of the three - brand strategy. However, the deeper reason is NIO's long - term commitment to the pure - electric route.

As the only domestic automaker with experience in developing three generations of pure - electric platforms and having been deeply involved in the pure - electric field for eleven years, NIO has been firm in its investment in core technology R & D and charging and battery - swapping infrastructure, and has also faced a lot of criticism.

Regarding the two technical routes of pure - electric and range - extended, Li Bin emphasized that NIO has always adhered to the pure - electric route, never changed, and never looked back. Even though Li Bin humorously mentioned that if time could turn back, it might be good to start with range - extended vehicles to make some money first, but this was more of a joke.

He once pointed out in public that the batteries of range - extended vehicles are getting bigger and bigger, and the fuel tank is only used once or twice a year. Carrying hundreds of kilograms of extra weight every day is not cost - effective. In addition, NIO conducted a special survey. For users who have bought range - extended vehicles and used them for more than half a year, the vast majority of them said they would buy a pure - electric vehicle next time because the best experience of a range - extended vehicle is in pure - electric mode.

On the other hand, many range - extended vehicle manufacturers have also started to build large - scale pure - electric charging infrastructure. In this regard, NIO, which has been deeply involved for more than a decade, is beginning to show the scale effect of its charging and battery - swapping network. As of now, NIO has built 3,533 battery - swapping stations, and its high - speed battery - swapping network covers 550 cities across the country. It has even further opened up scenarios like the 318 National Highway, which represents the pursuit of freedom. This shows that NIO's charging system has basically eliminated charging anxiety in core urban areas. This not only improves the user experience but also becomes NIO's core competitive advantage over other brands.

A NIO user's shared charging pile by the roadside in Heyuan, Guangdong

Industry data shows that in the first eight months of this year, the sales of domestic pure - electric vehicles increased by 46.1% year - on - year, far exceeding the 22.8% growth rate of hybrid vehicles. In September, the sales of pure - electric models reached 835,000 units, a year - on - year increase of 32%, while the sales of plug - in hybrid and range - extended models declined significantly.

This trend validates Li Bin's judgment that the era of range - extended three - row SUVs is passing, and the era of pure - electric three - row SUVs is coming.

Lin Huaibin, the deputy director of S&P Global Mobility's China light - vehicle sales forecast, pointed out at a recent industry forum, "The growth of hybrid models has stalled, and pure - electric products have returned to the fast - growth track. This turning point came earlier than expected." This is undoubtedly good news for NIO, which adheres to the pure - electric route.

While the industry trend is a general situation, to seize the trend and translate it into sales growth, NIO has carried out continuous organizational transformation after painful self - reflection, rapidly improving its execution ability and business awareness at key business nodes.

Li Bin realized NIO's organizational problems last year. He started internal pilot projects in 2024, and the CBU (Basic Business Unit) mechanism launched in March this year requires each business unit to be responsible for its own profits and losses. This transformation faced considerable resistance in the early stage. "Now, we have to calculate the return on investment clearly before starting each project, which was unimaginable before," a mid - level NIO employee once said to the outside world.

Through communication with salespeople at several LeDao and NIO stores, Lianxian Chuxing learned that since this year, there have been clear performance assessment standards for employees at different stores. NIO calls it the CIP mechanism internally. Those who fail to meet the performance requirements need to sign a performance improvement plan. If they still fail to meet the requirements the next month, they will have to leave. The principle of survival of the fittest is strictly implemented.

Some salespeople reported that the number of employees has indeed decreased, but the ability of those who remain to follow up on customers has improved significantly, and the overall store sales volume has continued to rise. With the obvious increase in sales, some salespeople are even willing to sacrifice their rest days, going to Hong Kong to open an account in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, and actively buying NIO stocks. "The perception of salespeople is definitely a barometer of a company."

At the recently held NIO Day, Li Bin said, "There were many sponsors at this year's NIO Day, and we even made a small profit after calculating the accounts." This kind of meticulous business awareness is permeating every aspect of the company.

Challenges Remain on the Road to Profitability

Despite the favorable situation, NIO still faces multiple challenges. First and foremost is the delivery pressure. The monthly production capacity of the new ES8 needs to be increased to over 15,000 units to meet the order demand.

Recently, a group - chat record showed that NIO's Hefei factory is in full swing with recruitment. There were even situations where the office space was not enough, and hundreds of people had to have group interviews in the cafeteria and the indoor basketball court. Some users shared on social media that there were recruitment notices for the factory on NIO's charging piles.

Li Bin emphasized in an internal meeting, "We are very confident that the production capacity of the new ES8 will reach over 15,000 units per month in December."

As the purchase tax gradually decreases and replacement subsidies in various regions are reduced, the new - energy vehicle industry is generally facing the problem of tight production capacity. Although many brands have sufficient orders, they are limited by the fact that the production capacity of battery and core component suppliers has reached the upper limit, resulting in pressure on the production lines and an urgent need for adjustment.

Sun Shaojun said in a live - broadcast that since NIO has always focused on pure - electric vehicles and has cooperated with battery suppliers like CATL for many years, its production line currently requires relatively little adjustment. This is also one of the reasons why NIO's weekly delivery volume could reach over 10,000 in mid - October. It can be regarded as an unexpected benefit of NIO's long - term commitment to the pure - electric route.

Meanwhile, how to balance sales growth and service quality is also a test. With the rapid increase in delivery volume, NIO's user - service system, which it is proud of, is under pressure. In addition, resource allocation under the operation of three brands, demand fluctuations after the purchase - tax adjustment in the first quarter of next year, etc., are all variables that need to be addressed.

At the same time, the capital market is closely watching NIO's profit quality. In addition to whether it can achieve single - quarter profitability, the more crucial issue is whether this profitability is sustainable. Li Bin is also clearly aware of this. He emphasized internally that making a profit "is not for show, but is the cornerstone for the long - term sustainable development of our entire company."

The user - co - created theme song "Growth" played at NIO Day sings, "Take deep roots and grow slowly." This may be the best footnote for NIO's current development stage. After investing over 60 billion yuan in R & D over the past decade, building a national charging and battery - swapping network, and adhering to the pure - electric technology route, these long - term investments are now entering the harvest period.

NIO's classic catchphrase "at the earliest this year, at the latest next year" has a new interpretation. Under a video analyzing the significance of NIO's profitability, a netizen left a message saying "at the earliest this year, at the latest next year." Some people questioned why NIO was still saying "at the latest next year" when its monthly sales were approaching 40,000. Then the netizen explained that they meant NIO would make a profit at the earliest this year, at the latest next year.

With its weekly sales exceeding 10,000 units, NIO has proven its product strength and brand power. However, to transform from "surviving" to "sustainable and healthy development," it still needs to make further breakthroughs in supply - chain management, service - system upgrading, multi - brand collaboration, etc.

Profitability is just a new starting point, and the future tests have just begun.

This article is from the WeChat official account “Lianxian Chuxing” (ID: lianxianchuxing), author: Su Cheng. It is published by 36Kr with permission.