Nio $NIO delivered 40,597 vehicles in June, a new high for the year and a year‑on‑year jump of 62.9%, bringing its first‑half total to 191,123 cars (+67.4% year‑on‑year). That met its own guidance for the second quarter, which the market had been nervously fretting about just a few weeks ago. Nio is showing it can execute on volume and on the ramp‑up of new models. The flagship ES9 surpassed 10,000 deliveries just 30 days after launch – a record in its price segment – and became the first city in China to exceed 1,000 units in Shanghai. On top of that, the company is rolling out its WorldModel assistance system with more than 700,000 users. Software and data security are becoming just as important as range, and Nio is clearly trying to be seen as a premium, technologically advanced brand, not just another electric‑car maker.

However, the paradox I would not overlook is the stock’s reaction: over the past 30 days it is down 10.6%, trading around $4.79, i.e. roughly 35% below the analysts’ target of $7.32. Operationally the company is doing well, but the share price is not reflecting that – and that usually means the market is looking somewhere other than at deliveries. And that view has a name: a net loss of 9.2 billion yuan. As long as Nio is burning that kind of cash in the world’s fiercest price war, superb delivery numbers will always be eclipsed by the question “when will it finally make money”. An interesting strategic move is the new battery R&D base in Shanghai with 31 laboratories and pilot lines, focused on next‑generation batteries including solid‑state technology, for which mass deployment is expected after 2027. This shows that Nio is thinking long‑term and wants to keep its technological core in‑house, even as it consolidates production through a five‑year agreement with CATL.