Nio Achieves Record December Deliveries Closing a Strong Year of Growth

2026-01-02 companies

Shanghai, Friday, 2 January 2026.
Nio closed 2025 with a record 48,135 December deliveries, driving a 47 percent annual sales increase to 326,028 vehicles, signaling robust demand and operational strength.

Multi-Brand Strategy Fuels December Surge

Nio’s record-breaking performance in December 2025 highlights the efficacy of its diversified brand portfolio. The company delivered 48,135 vehicles in the final month of the year, marking a 54.6 percent increase year-over-year [1][3]. This total was comprised of 31,897 units from the premium Nio brand, 9,154 from the family-oriented Onvo brand, and 7,084 from the compact Firefly brand [7]. Notably, the Firefly brand achieved a new monthly record with a 16.4 percent month-on-month increase, securing five consecutive months of growth [7]. This segmentation allows Nio to address different market tiers simultaneously, mitigating the reliance on a single demographic.

Quarterly and Annual Performance Analysis

For the fourth quarter of 2025, Nio delivered 124,807 vehicles, representing a substantial 71.7 percent year-over-year increase [3]. This figure landed comfortably near the upper end of the company’s revised guidance range of 120,000 to 125,000 units [1][4]. On an annual basis, the company concluded 2025 with 326,028 total deliveries, a 46.9 percent rise from the 221,970 vehicles delivered in 2024 [1][3]. Despite this strong growth, the total fell short of the initial 2025 delivery target of approximately 442,000 vehicles [1]. However, the cumulative effect of these deliveries has pushed Nio to the brink of a major milestone, with total lifetime deliveries reaching 997,592 as of December 31, 2025 [1][7].

Operational Highlights and Model Specifics

A key driver of recent success has been the robust production of the third-generation ES8. Nio’s third electric vehicle plant (F3) in Hefei manufactured 43,668 units of the Gen-3 ES8 in 2025, exceeding production targets by approximately 3,700 vehicles [5]. The demand for this flagship model remains high; orders placed on December 31, 2025, currently face an estimated waiting time of 20 to 21 weeks, with deliveries projected for mid-to-late May 2026 [5]. While the broader Nio brand saw an 11.13 percent year-over-year decrease in total annual deliveries to 178,806 units, the introduction of the Onvo and Firefly sub-brands was critical in driving the overall corporate volume growth, contributing 107,808 and 39,414 annual deliveries respectively [6][7].

Competitive Landscape and Future Outlook

Nio’s performance stands out amidst a mixed landscape for Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers. While competitor Xpeng reported a 2 percent increase in December, its fourth-quarter volume of 116,249 vehicles missed its guidance range [4]. Conversely, Zeekr delivered a record 30,267 cars in December, up 11 percent year-on-year [4]. Looking ahead, Nio is poised to hit its 1 millionth car production milestone within days of the new year [4]. Furthermore, the company continues to invest heavily in infrastructure, planning to add at least 1,000 swap stations in 2026 and introducing over 4,200 long-range battery packs to its network in January 2026 to support growing user demand [4].

Sources

Electric Vehicles Nio