- Nio will use Firefly as its pioneering brand, expanding its international presence to 40 countries and regions in 2026.
- Li expects China's NEV penetration rate to exceed 90 percent by 2030.
Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO, HKG: 9866) is poised to roll out its one-millionth vehicle next week, marking a milestone for the 11-year-old Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker.
"In just a few days, we will celebrate the rollout of our one-millionth mass-produced vehicle," Nio founder, Chairman, and CEO William Li said in an internal letter to all employees welcoming 2026.
"User support has always been our driving force and confidence in winning the competition. Let us maintain our original commitment to being a user-centric enterprise, repaying user trust with better products, better services, and better operational performance," Li said.
Data released yesterday by Nio showed it delivered a record 48,135 vehicles in December, bringing its full-year 2025 deliveries to 326,028 units -- a 46.88 percent year-on-year increase.
By the end of December, Nio's cumulative deliveries since inception reached 997,592 units, nearing the one-million milestone, according to data compiled by CnEVPost.
| Year | Deliveries |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 11,348 |
| 2019 | 20,565 |
| 2020 | 43,728 |
| 2021 | 91,429 |
| 2022 | 122,486 |
| 2023 | 160,038 |
| 2024 | 221,970 |
| 2025 | 326,028 |
Li projected that by 2030, China's new energy vehicle (NEV) penetration rate will exceed 90 percent, with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounting for over 80 percent of NEVs.
Li noted that in the first 11 months of 2025, BEVs contributed 61.9 percent of China's NEV sales, growing significantly faster than extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
"Our 12 full-stack technological advancements, along with competitive advantages in charging and battery swapping, will gain increasing recognition from users," he said.
Nio will continue investing in infrastructure development, launching large-scale deployment of its fifth-generation battery swap stations starting in the second quarter, Li said.
The company plans to add over 1,000 battery swap stations in 2026, bringing the total number of the facilities to more than 4,600 by year-end, he said.
Nio will continuously enhance the commercial operational capabilities of its charging and battery swap networks to lay the foundation for profitability in this business, Li said.
He also addressed overseas markets, noting the company will steadily advance its global expansion through the national distributor model.
Nio will use Firefly as its pioneering brand, expanding its international presence to 40 countries and regions by 2026, he said.
