Nio, Inc.'s (NYSE:NIO) January deliveries, though fairly robust, came in below the numbers of its U.S.-listed Chinese peers XPeng, Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) and Li Auto, Inc. (NASDAQ:LI).
Undeterred by the relative underperformance, an analyst at Credit Suisse named Nio as his top pick in the China auto space, citing clear growth prospects in 2022.
The Nio Analyst: Bin Wang reiterated an Outperform rating and $83 price target on Nio shares, suggesting over 230% upside from current levels.
The Nio Takeaways: Nio has impending catalysts, including the delivery of the ET7 sedan beginning on March 28, Wang said. This could help the company's sales volume to return to growth track, the analyst said.
The analyst expects Nio's 2022 sales volume to jump 64% to 150,000 units due to its penetration into the sedan segment.
The company showcased two sedans — the ET7 and ET5 — at its recent Nio Days event, with deliveries expected to commence in March and September, he said.
Related Link: Nio Stock Spiking Higher As ET5 Prototypes Roll Off Assembly Line Just 2 Months After Launch
Nio will likely unveil its new SUV, the ES7, at the April Beijing auto show, and deliveries of the model could start from December, Wang said. The ES7 and ET5 will be manufactured at the NEO Park in Hefei city, he added.
There has been strong reception for the ET5 sedan in the form of strong order flow due to its competitive pricing of 240,000 yuan ($37,730) under the battery-as-a-service offering compared to the 250,000 yuan a Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) made-in-China Model 3 sedan costs, the analyst noted.
The ET5, Wang said, will likely be Nio's best-selling volume product, with about 7,000 monthly units.
Nio could announce another three SUVs in 2023 — the new-gen ES6, new-gen ES8 and ES5 compact-sized SUVs, the analyst said. The company will likely add three sedan products in 2024, namely the ET6, ET8 and ET9 sedans, and unveil its mass-market brand, he added.
Credit Suisse also expects Nio to make progress with its autonomous driving capability in 2022, potentially launching new NAD "Level 4" technology.
NIO Price Action: Nio shares were down 2.82% at $24.14 Wednesday morning.
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Photo courtesy of Nio.
