NIO CEO pledges improving finances even as Tesla challenge looms in China
- Shanghai-based NIO has accumulated a deficit of almost US$6 billion since its founding in 2014
- The firm’s third-quarter earnings, set to be released on Monday, are expected to show it is still a long way to profitability
The head of Chinese electric car maker NIO pledged an improvement in the struggling company’s finances, as demand picks up and its cost-cutting efforts start to bear fruit.
NIO’s sport utility vehicles will be competitive not just against other electric models, but all premium cars in the same price range, said William Li Bin, the company’s co-founder and chief executive. Meanwhile, expense reductions will help NIO’s gross margin to widen in 2020, he said.
“I am very confident of our products’ competitiveness,” Li said in an interview in Shenzhen on Sunday. “There are many concerns in the market, but our sales are real.”
NIO has accumulated a deficit of almost US$6 billion since its founding in 2014, spending extensively on marketing and product development for a foothold in China’s burgeoning electric car market. Third-quarter earnings, which are set to be released on Monday, are expected to show there is still a long way to profitability.
