Nio surges over 10% as budget-friendly L90 SUV beats price expectations

by CHEN Xiaotong

Shares of Chinese EV maker Nio jumped more than 10 per cent in Hong Kong on Monday after its mass-market sub-brand Onvo revealed aggressive pricing for its second model, the L90. The stock closed at HK$32.30, bringing the company's market capitalization to HK$72.5 billion.

Analysts at CICC maintained an "outperform" rating on the company, citing strong management confidence in achieving profitability in the fourth quarter. The brokerage values Nio's Hong Kong shares at 1.0 times 2025 price-to-sales ratio, with a target price of HK$41—implying a 40 per cent upside from current levels.

Unveiled at a product briefing on July 10, the Onvo L90 is aimed squarely at China's premium three-row SUV segment. Pre-orders opened at 279,900 yuan for full purchase or 193,900 yuan with a battery leasing plan—both undercutting expectations. Display vehicles have already arrived at Onvo stores across China.

Nio founder and CEO LI Bin told Jiemian News and other outlets that the company priced the L90 based on the "minimum possible price without losing money," adding that despite the low pre-sale figure, the model still has margin potential. "It's about using early tech investment to reduce long-term costs," he said.

Investment bank BOCOM International noted that the L90's spacious design redefines family EV travel and positions it as a compelling rival to Aito's M9 and Xiaomi's YU7, offering a better value proposition on size and configuration.

The L90 will officially launch by end-July, with deliveries starting August 1. Its rollout follows a tightly coordinated marketing strategy spanning auto show reveals, showroom arrivals, test drives, and infrastructure alignment. "By the time we officially launched, customers had already seen the actual car," Li said, noting production is on track to meet delivery demand.

In the first quarter, Nio reported revenue of 12.04 billion yuan, up 21.5 per cent year-on-year but down nearly 39 per cent from the previous quarter. Net losses widened 30 per cent year-on-year to 6.75 billion yuan. Li has repeatedly stated the company is targeting profitability by the fourth quarter, saying that if Nio remains unprofitable, "then I'm not doing my job as CEO."

In June, Nio delivered 24,925 vehicles, up 17.5 per cent year-on-year. The mainline Nio brand accounted for 14,593 units, followed by 6,400 from Onvo and 3,932 from its entry-level Firefly line. In the second quarter, total deliveries reached 72,056, up 71.2 per cent from the first quarter.