Chinese electric car company Nio said over the weekend it is raising prices and suspending production as the latest Covid wave added to supply chain challenges.
The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell nearly 9% in Monday morning trading.
Nio announced Sunday it would raise the prices for its three SUVs — the ES8, ES6 and EC6 — by 10,000 yuan ($1,572), effective May 10. Prices for the recently launched ET7 and ET5 sedans would remain the same.
Raw material prices, particularly those for batteries, have risen “too much” this year with no downward trend in sight for the near term, CEO William Li said as part of the announcement.
“Originally [we] thought we could bear it, but now with this pandemic it’s even harder to bear,” he said. “We have no alternative but to raise prices. Please be understanding.”
A day earlier, on Saturday, Nio said it suspended production due to Covid-related restrictions in the last several weeks that halted production at suppliers’ factories.
“Due to the impact of Covid on Changchun and Hebei, the supply of some of our auto parts has been cut off since mid-March,” Li said. The company’s production “managed to rely on auto parts inventory until last week.”
He added that as a result of recent Covid outbreaks in Shanghai and Jiangsu province, many suppliers can’t provide parts either.
The company began deliveries of its first sedan, the ET7, in late March. A second sedan, the ET5, is set to begin deliveries in September.
