Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO) shares are down around 1.8% premarket after its first-quarter revenue missed consensus expectations.
The Chinese electric vehicle maker reported a Q1 loss of RMB2.51 ($0.36) per share, RMB0.12 better than the analyst estimate of an RMB2.63 loss per share. Revenue for the quarter came in at RMB10.68 billion versus the consensus estimate of RMB11.93B.
During the quarter, NIO delivered 31,041 vehicles. However, vehicle sales of RMB9,224.5 million decreased by 0.2% from Q1 2022 and fell 37.5% from the fourth quarter.
"In the face of the changing market environment, we will observe and analyze the dynamics of the operating environment and competition landscape promptly, and continue to strengthen our competitive advantages in an agile and efficient manner," added Steven Wei Feng, Nio's chief financial officer.
Looking forward, NIO sees Q2 deliveries between 23,000 and 25,000 vehicles, representing a decrease of approximately 8.2% to 0.2% from the same quarter of 2022.
Revenues are expected to be between RMB8,742M ($1,273M) and RMB9,370M ($1,364M), representing a decrease of approximately 15.1% to 9% from the same quarter of 2022.
Reacting to the report, Morgan Stanley analysts said the firm's guidance was better than feared.
The analysts, who have an Overweight rating and a $12 price target on the stock, stated: "2Q23 volume guidance of 23-25k units is the bright spot, surprising on the upside vs. our previous expectation of 19-21k and suggesting a notable sales upturn of 10.2-12.2k or +66%~98% MoM in June."
"2Q revenue guidance of Rmb8.7~9.4mn (down 12-18% QoQ) implied ~10% ASP hike thanks to higher ES6 sales. All eyes are on ES6 ramp-up, ET5 Touring launch and margin trajectory in the coming quarters."