said the company has suspended production as Covid caused its supply chain partners to shut down production.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

NIO (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) has become the latest automaker to suspend production due to the outbreak of Covid in several Chinese cities.

NIO said today that it has suspended production as Covid has caused partners in its supply chain to shut down production.

Since March, NIO's supply chain partners in Jilin, Shanghai, Jiangsu and many other locations have suspended production because of the Covid outbreak and have yet to resume, it said in a statement on the NIO app today.

"Due to these factors, NIO's vehicle production has been suspended," the statement said, adding, "There will be a delay in the delivery of vehicles for many customers in the near future, and we ask for your understanding."

NIO will work with its supply chain partners to resume production and deliver vehicles as soon as possible, while meeting Covid control requirements, it said.

Notably, Shanghai, where NIO's global headquarters is located, entered a phased lockdown two weeks ago, while Hefei, Anhui province, where its factory is located, did not enter lockdown for now.

The lockdown in Shanghai has led to a two-week shutdown of 's factory in the city, and the date of resumption of production is unknown.

Shanghai entered a phased lockdown on March 28, and Tesla Giga Shanghai has been shut down since then, making it one of the longest shutdowns since the plant began production in late 2019.

A Reuters report on April 3 said Tesla hopes to resume production at Giga Shanghai on April 4 and the plant produces about 6,000 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles a week.

But a few hours later, Bloomberg reported that the plant would remain closed on April 4.

There is no information on when Tesla's Shanghai plant will resume production.

In addition to Tesla, FAW-Volkswagen's Changchun plant and SAIC-Volkswagen's Shanghai plant have also temporarily halted production, with the resumption date unknown.

Back at NIO, it delivered 9,985 vehicles in March, up 37.6 percent year-on-year and up 63 percent from February. The company's flagship sedan ET7, which was first delivered on March 28, had 163 deliveries in March.

NIO's last shutdown was in October 2021, when the company revamped its production line, resulting in the line working at full capacity for only 10 days that month, with deliveries of only 3,667 units.