More promotion boosted December deliveries of the Nio brand, while the increase of Onvo was due to improving supply, said analysts at Deutsche Bank.

Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) reported record December deliveries yesterday, with both the main Nio brand and the Onvo sub-brand seeing significant growth.

Now, Deutsche Bank analyst Wang Bin's team has shared their thoughts.

Increased promotion and front-loading demand boosted Nio's deliveries in December, the team said in a research note sent to investors today.

Nio Inc delivered a record 31,138 vehicles in December, the first time it has seen deliveries exceed the 30,000 mark in a single month, data released yesterday showed.

This puts it at a record 72,689 vehicles delivered in the fourth quarter, within the guidance range of 72,000 to 75,000 vehicles.

The Nio main brand delivered 20,610 vehicles in December, up 14.42 percent from 18,012 in the same month last year and up 33.03 percent from 15,493 in November.

Onvo delivered 10,528 vehicles in December, up 107.16 percent from 5,082 in November. The Nio sub-brand launched its first model, the L60, on September 19 and deliveries began on September 28.

"We attribute Nio brand's sequential volume increase to its increased promotion in December," Wang's team said.

Specifically, the Nio brand offered a RMB 5,000 ($680) "repeat purchasing" cash subsidy for its volume products ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, EC6, and RMB 10,000 for its high-price products ET7, EC7, ES7, ES8, the team noted.

Nio brand also launched "aged vehicle" (10-30 days) cash discount of RMB 6,000 for volume products ET5, ET5 Touring, ES6, EC6, and RMB 8,000 for high-priced products ET7, EC7, ES7, ES8, according to the team.

For BaaS (battery as a service) customers, Nio offered one payment waiver after every three payments with up to 15 waiver in December. For comparison, it offered one payment waiver after every four payments with up to 12 waiver in November.

Meanwhile, the team believes the improvement in Nio-branded deliveries was also boosted by the front-loaded demand from January 2025 to December 2024, as some potential buyers may be concerned that the central government's RMB 20,000-per-vehicle trade-in subsidy may be eliminated or the amount of the subsidy reduced.

The team attributed the sequential volume increase of the Onvo brand to its improving supply, thanks to the introduction of additional battery suppliers.

Onvo currently has a strong order backlog on hand, the team noted.

($1 = RMB 7.2994)

Nio launches limited-time 0-interest financing plans for main brand and Onvo sub-brand