TLDR
- NIO delivered 29,356 vehicles in April, down from 35,486 in March but up 22.8% year-over-year.
- NIO stock fell around 4.6% in early Friday trading despite being up 25% year to date.
- Li Auto and XPeng also saw month-over-month delivery declines in April.
- Combined deliveries from NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng totaled 94,452 units, down from 103,954 in March.
- China’s EV market is slowing due to saturation, with all-electric cars already making up roughly 30% of new vehicle sales.
NIO delivered 29,356 vehicles in April, missing March’s 35,486 but beating the 23,900 it posted in April 2025 — a 22.8% year-over-year gain.
The April total included 19,024 vehicles from its core NIO brand, 5,352 from the family-focused Onvo brand, and 4,980 from the compact Firefly brand. Cumulative deliveries hit 1,110,413 as of April 30.
NIO stock dropped around 4.6% in early Friday trading on the news.
That reaction stings a little, given the stock came into the session up 25% year to date and up 58% over the past 12 months. Over the last year, NIO has delivered 372,855 cars — a 54% jump on the prior 12-month period.
The expectations bar was simply set high.
Peer Deliveries Also Dipped Month-Over-Month
Li Auto posted April deliveries of 34,085 vehicles, down from 41,053 in March but just above the 33,939 from April 2025. Its stock edged up 0.7% on Friday. Still, Li has been the weaker performer — up just 5% year to date and down 27% over the past 12 months. Over the last year, Li delivered 408,767 cars, down 22% year-over-year.
XPeng was the one bright spot in the month-over-month picture. It delivered 31,011 cars in April, up from 27,415 in March. However, that was down from the 35,045 it posted in April 2025. XPeng stock was flat on Friday, and remains down 20% year to date.
Across the three companies, combined April deliveries came in at 94,452 — down from 103,954 in March and only about 2% above April 2025 levels.
China’s EV Market Hits a Saturation Wall
The broader story here is a slowing Chinese EV market. BYD, the market leader, sold 147,601 all-electric cars in March — down 11% year-over-year. April numbers from BYD have not yet been reported. Notably, 40% of BYD’s total March volume was exported, meaning domestic demand is even softer than the headline numbers suggest.
New-car sales in China fell in the first quarter. All-electric vehicles now account for roughly 30% of new-car sales in the country. Including plug-in hybrids, the electrified share is closer to 50%. With penetration already that high, the easy growth is gone.
The U.S. market has its own problems, though the cause is different. The $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired in September, making EVs more expensive for buyers. U.S. EV sales dropped 27% year-over-year in the first quarter, accounting for around 6% of new-car sales.
Tesla was up 0.3% on Friday. The S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Dow rose 0.4%.
NIO’s cumulative deliveries stood at 1,110,413 vehicles as of April 30, 2026.
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