NIO CEO: Supply chain stabilisation expected by April

William Li, CEO of NIO, expects the supply chain within the Chinese automotive industry to stabilise by March/April 2023. "I am very confident that the Chinese supply chain and the auto industry will return to normal shortly," Li told Bloomberg. This would be desirable in that NIO's sales figures could settle at current levels.

"My preliminary assessment, taking into account the upcoming Lunar New Year, is that the entire supply chain should have stabilised by March or April next year," said William Li, founder, chairman and CEO of NIO, according to a video tweeted by Bloomberg today. It is not clear from the video when Li said these words, but it appears to be shortly after NIO's 2022 Day, which was held on 24 December.

"With the process of China reopening, it is inevitable that the region where we are based will be affected. And also our supply chain partners," the CEO continued. But the good news is that the impact will soon be gone, he said, adding, "I am very confident that the Chinese supply chain and the auto industry will return to normal shortly."

There would be positive implications for the Chinese start-up. NIO delivered 15,815 vehicles in December, which is a record but still disappointing considering the company had previously given a higher forecast. At the end of the third quarter, a prediction of 43,000 to 48,000 deliveries was made for the fourth quarter. This would have meant that NIO had to deliver at least 18,763 vehicles in December to reach the lower end of the forecast.

On 27 December, NIO lowered its delivery forecast to between 38,500 and 39,500 vehicles, blaming the Covid outbreak for the supply and production problems. "The Chinese NEV market will generally be under pressure in the first half of 2023, but with an optimistic view, the market may gradually recover by the second quarter or May," the NIO CEO concluded on the future development of the market.