By Megan Cheah

Chinese automaker Nio's shares surged to their highest level this year in Hong Kong, helped by solid sales and an upcoming launch of a new sports-utility vehicle.

Its Hong Kong shares were recently 12% higher at 57.00 Hong Kong dollars, equivalent to US$7.33, on Wednesday. Nio's Singapore-listed shares also rose around 11%, while its American depository receipts closed 8.2% higher Tuesday.

Nio's rally suggests investors expect sustained demand for new models, analysts say. The Shanghai-based automaker is set to unveil the final price for its new ES8 SUV on Sept. 20.

Sales in the second week of September rose 36% compared with the same period a year earlier to around 6,200 units, bolstered by a new pure-electric SUV, said Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang in a note.

Nio expects September deliveries will be between 33,700 to 37,700 units, which would mean weekly delivery volumes will increase sequentially in the last three weeks of the month, he added.

Overall, the electric-vehicle maker's sales volumes appear to be turning a corner after the challenges it faced lifting sales over the last two years, said Eugene Hsiao, Macquarie Capital's head of China equity strategy.

Sentiment was also supported by the company's expectations that it will post an adjusted net profit for the first time by the fourth quarter, he said.

It also appears to be shifting its core strategy to cater to the mass-premium electric vehicle segment, where it will compete with Chinese peer Xiaomi and U.S.-based Tesla, instead of the premium electric-vehicle division where German automakers ply their trade, Hsiao added.

The segment switch could bring down margins but boost sales volumes.

"The question on investor minds will be how much of a trade-off the company will need to make in terms of vehicle margins in order to sustain volume growth in the future," Hsiao said.

Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2025 01:44 ET (05:44 GMT)

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