China Auto Market Weekly Digest: Electric Vehicle Surge & NIO Earnings Beat

Wondering what shook China’s automobile industry this first week of June? From game-changing policies to hot new car launches, here’s your need-to-know breakdown.

▶️ 124 New Energy Cars Selected for 2025 Rural Subsidy Program
In a welcome move, five government ministries greenlit the 2025 NEV (New Energy Vehicle) initiative on June 3rd. A record 124 electric vehicle models – including SUV, pickup, and compact segments – made the subsidy list. Unlike last year, Tesla’s Model Y SUV and Model 3 finally got the nod alongside domestic stars like BYD, Aion, and XPeng.

The program targets rural-friendly battery car options with proven reliability. On-ground activations will feature test drives, maintenance pop-ups, and charging infrastructure demos. Financial partners will bundle trade-in discounts + charging credits + insurance packages – a triple-threat strategy to boost new energy car adoption beyond Tier-3 cities.

▶️ NIO Q1 Revenue Hits ¥12B: 9 New Electric Vehicles Coming!
Meanwhile, NIO’s Q1 earnings dropped jaws with a 21% YoY revenue jump to ¥12.03 billion. They moved 42,094 car units (up 40%!), translating to ¥9.94B in automobile sales. The secret sauce? Their expanded electric vehicle lineup.

CEO William Li confirmed plans to launch nine new models across three brands in 2025. Six already hit showrooms, including the Firefly brand’s budget battery car. The remaining three? A next-gen ES8 SUV and two mid-size pickup-inspired models under the "Onvo" sub-brand (codenamed L90/L80). For Q2, NIO projects up to 75,000 deliveries – a potential 78% quarterly spike!

Trendspotting:

• SUV dominance continues with 68% selected electric vehicle models being high-riders.

• Budget new energy car options (<¥150k) surged 32% YoY in the subsidy catalog.

• Pickup-style EVs gain traction as rural workhorses (see: Great Wall’s Poer PHEV).

Why This Matters:
With major automobile players pushing affordable battery car tech and charging partnerships, 2025 could be China’s EV rural tipping point. Keep eyes peeled for those Onvo pickup reveals next quarter!