Nio To Launch Two Back-To-Back Sedans In A Challenge To Tesla Model 3

Nio Inc NIO is entering the sedan market, with plans to launch two back-to-back models, the electric vehicle company's CEO William Li said on the quarterly earnings call Tuesday.

What Happened: The Chinese EV maker will launch a sedan "soon" and is currently developing another one, Li said without elaborating further on the timeline, as first reported by Bloomberg. “So the next two products in line will both be sedans.”

The "Nio Day" annual event, where the company typically unveils new products and technologies, is slated to happen in January, Nio confirmed to Benzinga last month, and the new sedan launch could come at this time.

Nio typically aims to roll out one new vehicle every year, and the second sedan launch would be unlikely to happen until the company's next annual event.

Why It Matters: Nio has been speculated to be launching a high-performance, premium all-electric sedan dubbed ET7 for a while, and Li's comments don't come as a surprise.

The company's sedan offerings are said to be vying to compete with Tesla Inc. TSLA Model 3 sedan vehicles. Nio's stock is on a meteoric rise but the Elon Musk-led company is a threatening presence in its home market of China, especially with the upcoming locally-made Model Y launch. 

Li, in August, said Nio was planning to expand internationally by the end of 2020, starting with Europe.

The EV maker on Thursday reported an adjusted net loss of RMB 996 million, or $146.7 million, in the third quarter, with total revenues surging 146.4.% year-over-year to $666.6 million.

Citron Research's Andrew Left, a notorious short-seller, said late last week that Nio has entered "unchartered territory that can never be justified," making a bullish call that it's time for investors to cash out.

Price Action: After a 2.17% gain during trading hours, NIO ADRs dipped 1.05% during after-hours at $46.10.

See Also: Nio Unveils 100-kWh Battery, Upgrade Plans: What Investors Should Know

Benzinga editor Neer Varshney contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia