Nio Flags Off 100,000th Vehicle From Manufacturing Plant In Production Milestone

Close on heels of reporting record quarterly deliveries, NIO Limited NIO confirmed a major production milestone.

What Happened: Nio said Wednesday its 100,000th mass-produced vehicle rolled out of the production line at the JAC-Nio Hefei advanced manufacturing center.

It has taken the Chinese EV maker a little less than three years from the rollout of the first mass-produced vehicle – the ES8 – to hit this milestone. Incidentally, the 100,000th vehicle was also a ES8.

In the roll-off ceremony, representatives of the early users of the ES8, ES6 and EC6 models welcomed the buyer of the 100,000th vehicle to join the community.

See also: How to Buy Nio Stock

The average selling price of a Nio vehicle is currently 428,00 yuan ($65,410), positioning it well into the premium segment.

Founder, Chairman and CEO William Li reportedly said in a media event that the company commands 50% of high-end EV market, defined as EVs priced over 350,000 yuan. Li also expressed confidence in achieving 1 million volume sales in China.

Chip shortages could be a constraint for this high-flier. Li reportedly said chip crunch could force the company to trim monthly production to 7,500 vehicles from the current capacity of 10,000 vehicles per month.

Related Link: Electric Vehicle Showdown: Tesla Vs. Nio Vs. XPeng Vs. Li Auto — How Q1 Deliveries Stacked Up

Why It's Important: After seeing some softness in February, Nio's deliveries picked up pace in March, helping the company achieve record quarterly numbers.

The company has several key catalysts coming up. Local media speculates the company could announce by mid-April a tie-up with Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical Company Limited SHI to set up its batter swap facilities at the latter's gas filling stations.

Nio is also working on its fourth vehicle model, a sedan named ET7, which is likely to be launched in the first quarter of 2022. It's expected that the company will showcase the car at the Shanghai auto show, scheduled to be held April 19-28.

In premarket trading Wednesday, Nio shares were down 0.90% at $39.64.