NIO sales up 47 percent in third quarter

Shanghai-based electric car company NIO delivered 4,799 vehicles in the third quarter, up 47 percent from the same period last year.

These latest sales figures exceeded earlier estimates. Based on the automaker's second-quarter report, it predicted deliveries of between 4,200 and 4,400 vehicles in the most recent quarter.

In September alone, the company sold 2,019 units.

Based on car insurance records from the first eight months of this year, among China's new-energy vehicle startups, Shanghai-based WM Motor took the lead with total sales of 11,312 vehicles. NIO ranked second with sales totalling 10,458 units. Guangzhou-based Xpeng ranked third with 9,444 vehicles delivered.

NIO's sales performance in the second quarter was below market expectations, which battered its US-listed share price. NIO sold 3,140 of its ES8 sport utility vehicles in the second quarter, down from 3,989 in the first quarter. It sold only 413 units of its cheaper ES6 model.

The company reported a second-quarter loss of US$478.6 million, 25.2 percent more than its first-quarter loss, after a recall of 4,803 vehicles in late June to replace their battery packs. It was the first time a new-energy vehicle startup conducted such a recall.

The company is also expanding its sales network with smaller stores called NIO Spaces. By the end of 2019, the carmaker aims to establish around 200 such locations in over 100 cities across China.