It’s certainly fair to say that Nio (NYSE:NIO) is a legitimate rival of other electric vehicle (EV) makers now. In fact, many NIO stock traders are betting that this Chinese automaker will continue to innovate and expand.
Amazingly, though, Nio’s continued existence was doubted by some commentators in early 2020. You might have even heard a few folks predicting that NIO would go to zero.
In hindsight, we now know that such a dire scenario is highly unlikely. For one, the EV maker’s sales figures improved throughout much of 2020. It was an impressive turnaround, allowing the stock’s bulls to take back control of the price momentum.
Still, the company hasn’t just rested on its laurels. If innovation is what got Nio here, then that’s what will propel it — and the share price — forward in 2021.
Nio Stock at a Glance
If there’s any pick that could be called the “comeback kid of 2020,” it would be NIO stock. After being down in the dumps during the first quarter, it ended the year with an astonishing 1,110% gain.
Clearly, this stock is a fast mover. For further evidence, we can also look at its five-year monthly beta, which stands at 2.81. That figure means that Nio shares have moved nearly three times as fast as the overall stock market.
In other words, you’ll probably want to put your seat belt on if you plan on holding onto this name. The share price might dip sharply from time to time, like it did in late November and early December. Back then, it declined from $55 to $41.
But that was quite temporary. NIO promptly recovered and on Jan. 11, the stock marked a fresh high of $66.99. Currently, it sits at around $63.
Making Smarter Cars
By the end of last year, NIO stock was already on a major winning streak. For instance, the automaker delivered 7,007 vehicles in December, signifying a 121% year-over-year (YOY) improvement and bolstering confidence in the company.
Plus, that increase also put the company’s total delivery count for the year at 43,728 vehicles, a 112.6% improvement YOY. But Nio isn’t ready to take a break. It remains active in its efforts to make smarter and better vehicles.
For example, the company plans to use the DRIVE Orin “system-on-a-chip (SoC)” in its upcoming vehicles in order to enhance some of its EVs with advanced automated driving capabilities.
This is a great choice on Nio’s part. The Orin is one of the highest performing robotics processors of its kind in the world. In fact, it can deliver “an unprecedented 254 trillions of operations per second (TOPS),” among other advantages.
Entering the Sedan Market
But let’s not fixate just on Nio making smarter cars. Equally important, the company is also working diligently to offer more types of vehicles. For instance, it recently launched its very first sedan model.
The ET7 will offer a drive range of more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) between charges. If you leave out the battery pack, the car has a starting price of $58,378 and is fitted with lidar sensors.
Like adding Orin into its EVs, introducing the ET7 is a sensible move on Nio’s part, too. Reuters reports that “In China’s passenger car market, sedans and SUVs each make up around 46% of overall sales.” So, the company’s decision to add a sedan to its fleet could easily add value to NIO stock.
The Takeaway
There’s no denying it: the bulls are fully in control of the momentum in NIO stock.
Needless to say, this is a remarkable turnaround story. What’s more, the enthusiasm is likely to persist as Nio continues to innovate and expand into new, bold directions. All of this offers shareholders some serious value.
On the date of publication, Louis Navellier had long position(s) in NIO. Louis Navellier did not have (either directly or indirectly) any other positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
Louis Navellier had an unconventional start, as a grad student who accidentally built a market-beating stock system — with returns rivaling even Warren Buffett. In his latest feat, Louis discovered the “Master Key” to profiting from the biggest tech revolution of this (or any) generation.
