ELECTRIC vehicle (EV) maker Nio has sunk deeper into the red in the first quarter of 2023, reporting a net loss of almost US$700 million, up from its net loss of US$287.9 million in the same period the year before. 

In a bourse filing announcing the unaudited financial result on Friday (Jun 9), the Chinese company, which is listed on three exchanges including Singapore’s, said this comes as its vehicle sales fell 37.5 per cent from Q4 2022 (the October-to-December quarter). 

Nio said the sales took a dive along with a drop in delivery volume and average selling price of its EVs. It sold more of its mid-size sedans, the ET5, particularly the one with the smallest battery pack option.  

Compared to Q1 2022, Q1 2023 vehicle sales were 0.2 per cent lower, also on a lower average selling price of EVs.

The results translate to a loss per share of US$0.42, against loss per share of US$0.18 in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue was up 7.7 per cent to US$1.55 billion compared to the same period a year ago. Against the previous quarter, however, revenue was down 33.5 per cent.

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Nio said its “other sales” category in Q1 2023 rose 117.8 per cent from the year before, or 11.3 per cent from Q4 2022. This came from an increase in sales of accessories, provision of repair, maintenance, auto-financing services, sales of used cars and provision of power solutions, as a result of continued growth in its user base, it said.

Nio also disclosed that it spent more on research and development (R&D) due to higher personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses. R&D expenses, quarter on quarter, rose 74.6 per cent to US$446.8 million. 

In the next quarter, Nio said it expects its number of vehicle deliveries to be between 23,000 and 25,000 – between 0.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent lower than in Q2 2022.

Revenue is expected to come in at between US$1.27 billion and US$1.36 billion, representing drop of between 9 per cent and 15.1 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2022.

This business outlook reflects the company’s current and preliminary view on the business situation and market condition, which is subject to change, it noted.

Nio shares on the Singapore Exchange closed at US$7.68 on Friday, down 0.5 per cent or US$0.04.