NIO founder, chairman, and CEO William Li stated during the Q1 2026 earnings call this evening that the rising prices of raw materials this year, especially memory chips, have put significant pressure on the entire industry. NIO faces an average cost burden of over 10,000 yuan per vehicle.
Li Bin stated that NIO will maintain price stability and the overall competitiveness of its products and services, and will not prioritize “volume” as its primary business strategy, but will maintain reasonable volume growth . “Simply pursuing volume cannot bring about significant improvement in gross profit, so we are very committed to brand positioning, user emotional value, and emotional brand innovation in this regard.”
NIO CFO Qu Yu also stated that all other related businesses, including after-sales service, maintenance, the car marketplace, energy, finance, and NIO Life, have seen significant improvements in operating results since the fourth quarter of last year, achieving a gross profit margin of over 20% in the first quarter , signifying a new phase for service and community-related businesses. Looking at the full-year target, they hope to maintain a gross profit margin of around 20% this year. “From a longer-term perspective, our user base continues to rise, and with improved efficiency, the profitability of service and community-related businesses will continue to improve, becoming an important growth driver for NIO besides new cars.”
Li Bin also stated that with the further expansion of the battery swapping network, users in third-, fourth-, and fifth-tier cities are increasingly accepting pure electric products. The company’s existing product lineup, including upcoming products, will enable the company to gain momentum in the Chinese passenger vehicle market.
