Why Is Tesla's Chinese Rival NIO Stock Diving Today? (UPDATED)

Editor’s Note: The story is updated with pricing details of the equity offering.

NIO Inc. NIO shares traded lower on Thursday. The stocks of automakers declined after the White House announced that President Donald Trump would introduce new tariffs on auto imports during a press conference on Wednesday.

Also, on Thursday, NIO disclosed its intention to offer up to 118.79 million Class A ordinary shares. The company priced of its expanded equity placement and raised around HK$4.03 billion ($518.27 million).

The offering includes 136.8 million Class A shares at a price of HK$29.46 ($3.79) per share. The transaction is expected to close around April 7, 2025, upon fulfillment of customary closing conditions.

NIO plans to use the net proceeds from this equity placement to fund research and development of smart electric vehicle technologies and new products, strengthen its balance sheet, and support general corporate purposes.

This week, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer informed investors to expect underwhelming first-quarter results.

The company reportedly expects to deliver up to 43,000 vehicles by March 31, with a projected revenue of approximately 12.9 billion yuan ($1.8 billion).

Nio has also received funding from strategic investors, including a 3.3 billion yuan (~$455 million) investment from Hefei government-backed funds and a $2.94 billion capital injection from Abu Dhabi’s CYVN Holdings in 2023.

Last week, the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of 19.70 billion Chinese yuan ($2.70 billion), up 15.2% year-over-year and up 5.5% sequentially. Analysts, on average, estimated revenue of $2.85 billion for the quarter.

NIO reported an adjusted loss per share per ADS of 3.17 Chinese yuan or 43 cent loss compared to a 2.81 Chinese yuan loss in the year-ago quarter. Analysts had called for a loss of 42 cents per ADS.

Price Action: NIO shares are down 7.58% at $3.90 premarket at the last check Thursday.

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