Tesla Rival Nio Said To Be Pushing Back Key ES7 SUV Launch By A Month

Nio Inc NIO will push back the launch of its hotly anticipated ES7 electric sports utility vehicle by a month, CnEVpost reported on Wednesday, citing the company’s co-founder and president Qin Lihong.

What Happened: Shanghai-based Nio will now launch the ES7 towards the end of May instead of April.

The change in plans is linked to a spike in COVID-19 cases in China and the likely cancellation of the Beijing Auto show scheduled to take place from April 21 to April 30, according to the report.

Tesla Inc TSLA earlier this week reportedly shut down Giga Shanghai for at least a day as China tightened its pandemic restrictions.

Shanghai had locked down half of the city to carry out a mass testing exercise related to new COVID-19 cases. 

See Also: Nio's William Li Says EV Maker On Track To Break Even In 2024 Amid Rising Chip, Raw Material Prices

Nio did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment at press time.

Why It Matters: The development comes days after Nio told analysts the ES7 SUV would be launched soon, with deliveries starting in the third quarter.

Nio in February said the electric SUV would be built on its NT2.0 platform and come equipped with similar intelligence prowess as in the ET5 and ET7 sedans.

See Also: Tesla Rival Nio Retains Bullish Rating From This Analyst, But Gets A Price-Target Cut: Here's Why

Besides ES7, Nio has two other key launches planned this year — the ET7 luxury sedan and ET5 mid-size sedan.

Price Action: Nio stock closed 3.2% higher at $21.8 a share on Tuesday.