This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Aug 22 – NIO (NYSE:NIO) shares rose nearly 10% on Thursday, reaching their highest level of 2025 after the company revealed its redesigned ES8 at a pre-launch event in Chengdu. Short interest in the stock stands at 8.5% of total float.
The new ES8, positioned as NIO’s premium flagship SUV, expands from a mid-large to a full-size model and will be offered in both six- and seven-seat configurations. Trim options include the Executive Premium and Executive Signature Editions, with starting prices of RMB 416,800 (RMB 308,800 with NIO’s Battery-as-a-Service program) and RMB 456,800 (RMB 348,800 with BaaS), respectively. Pre-orders are now open ahead of a planned late-September launch.
Pricing for the ES8 comes in lower than Tesla’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model Y L six-seat SUV. In Europe, the vehicle will be marketed as the EL8 due to a trademark conflict with Audi.
To support demand, NIO is rolling out promotional offers, including deposit discounts and repurchase benefits for existing owners. The ES8 features the company’s 900V high-voltage architecture, a 102 kWh battery, and dual motors producing 520 kW, giving it a range of up to 635 km.
Based on the one year price targets offered by 24 analysts, the average target price for NIO Inc is $5.10 with a high estimate of $9.01 and a low estimate of $3.00. The average target implies a downside of -7.91% from the current price of $5.54.
