Shares of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio (NIO) plunged about 9% on Tuesday, due to double-digit drops in weekly vehicle registrations between August 4 and August 10. The drop in the penny stock also stems from Citigroup (C), a major investor, reducing its stake in Nio by 6.5% last quarter. The news was first reported by EV.
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NIO’s Sales Performance
The company’s main brand, Nio, registered 2,160 vehicles in China between August 4 and 10, which points to a major 37.4% drop from the previous week.
Also, the other brands, Onvo and Firefly, saw registrations decline by 12% and 13% respectively. This marks the lowest weekly sales for the group since the start of the third quarter.
On the other hand, Tesla (TSLA) saw strong demand last week, as it recorded its best result of the quarter with 13,400 units, securing the third spot among top-selling brands. Also, BYD (BYDDF) registered 54,800 hybrid and fully electric vehicles. Other major players like Leapmotor (HK:9863), XPeng (XPEV), and Li Auto (LI) also saw strong sales figures.
Major Investor Lowers Stake in Nio
Further adding to investors’ concerns, Citigroup disclosed a lower stake in the company. This move comes after the bank significantly raised its stake by over 400% in the first quarter of 2025, adding 6 million shares to its portfolio.
The SEC filing shows that Citi, previously Nio’s seventh-largest institutional shareholder, now holds 6,830,241 shares, a decrease of 475,902 shares since March 31. It must be noted that Citigroup has been an investor in Nio since its IPO in 2018.
Is Nio a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Overall, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on NIO stock, based on three Buys, six Holds, and one Sell assigned in the last three months. The average NIO stock price target of $4.65 implies 3.56% upside potential from current levels.
