Chinese automaker Nio Inc. (NIO) rose over 6% on Thursday, boosted by investor excitement around its newly unveiled Onvo L90 SUV. The stock is still down about 15% year-to-date, amid ongoing delivery concerns and rising EV competition in China. While the company continues to grow revenue, it remains unprofitable—raising questions about its long-term path to stability. However, in a new update, Morgan Stanley analyst Tim Hsiao reiterated his Buy rating on the stock with a $5.90 price target, following the launch of NIO’s latest electric SUV, Onvo L90, under its new sub-brand, Onvo.
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The company opened pre-sales for the Onvo L90 at RMB 279,900, or RMB 193,900 with the battery-as-a-service (BaaS) plan. According to Hsiao, the official pricing could come in below market expectations of RMB 270,000–280,000, which could help the model gain traction in a crowded space. Deliveries are set to begin on August 1.
Hsiao’s Views on the Onvo L90 Launch
Hsiao believes the L90 offers a compelling mix of features for a vehicle in its SUV segment. The three-row SUV offers high-end features like 900V fast charging, AR-HUD display, air suspension, a smart fridge, and L2+ autonomous driving powered by Nvidia’s (NVDA) Orin-X chip. He noted the L90 compares well to premium models like Li Auto’s (LI) L9, AITO M9, and Denza (BYD’s sub-brand) N9, while coming in at a more competitive price.
At the same time, Hsiao highlighted that the L90’s price point positions it directly against more affordable six-seater SUVs like the Li Auto L6, XPeng (XPEV) G9, and Xiaomi SU7, which could help it appeal to a broader range of buyers.
However, the analyst also raised some concerns. While the features and price are strong, Hsiao said that Onvo is still not well known, and the brand has not yet proven it can deliver well. He added that winning customer trust and showing solid results will be important if NIO wants the L90—and the upcoming L80—to do well.
Still, Hsiao is hopeful. He believes the Onvo models could help NIO get back on track, as long as the company can perform well in a market where buyers are careful about both price and value.
Is Nio a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Overall, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on NIO stock based on two Buys, seven Holds, and one Sell assigned in the last three months. The average NIO stock price target of $4.40 implies 19.24% upside potential from current levels.
