EV Startup Nio Drops Plan for Factory in Shanghai

Shanghai-based electric car startup Nio Ltd., has abandoned plans to build an assembly plant in the city’s Jiading district after its losses nearly doubled in 2018, the Shanghai Daily reports.

The carmaker’s revenue last year rose to 5 billion yuan ($740 million). But its losses climbed more than 90% to 9.6 billion yuan ($1.4 billion).

Last August Nio raised about $1 billion in an initial public offering in the U.S. The IPO gave the company a market valuation of $6.4 billion. The startup has been described as a Chinese version of California-based Tesla Inc.

Nio, which was founded in late 2014 as NextEV, debuted its first EV—the $68,000 ES8 crossover—at the end of 2017. The company delivered 9,700 of the seven-passenger vehicles by the end of last year. The ES8 generates 644 hp, scoots from zero to 100 kph in 4.4 seconds and has a range of 220 miles per charge, according to the company.

Nio unveiled the $53,300 ES6, a five-seat crossover (pictured above), in December. Deliveries are expected to begin in June.