According to the Zhixin Finance APP, CICC released a research report stating that it maintains NIO-SW (09866)'s 'outperform' rating and a non-GAAP profit of 2024/25. The target price is HKD 62. The company delivered 20,544 vehicles in May. In terms of the battery swapping system, NIO's energy investment (Hubei) recently disclosed that it has received a strategic investment of CNY 1.5 billion from Wuhan Guangchuang Fund, planning to increase relevant technology R&D, as well as develop the layout of charging and battery swapping infrastructure.

CICC's main points are as follows:

Record-high volume of deliveries in May, supported by Baas rental adjustments and partial discounts.

The company delivered 20,544 vehicles in May, up 233.8% YoY and 31.5% MoM. On March 14, the company released a new BaaS policy, with standard monthly rental prices reduced from CNY 980/month to CNY 728/month for standard range and CNY 1,680/month to CNY 1,128/month for extended range. In addition, users who purchase vehicles before May 31 can still enjoy the 'rent for four months and get one month free' discount, further reducing the actual cost paid by users and bringing continuous growth on the orders and sales side. The bank expects the company's 1Q gross profit margin to remain at 10% to 15%, and second-quarter deliveries are expected to exceed 20,000 vehicles in May and June.

NIO Power financing continues to expand, Baas effect exceeds expectations, and business model becomes clearer.

The company has recently signed strategic cooperation agreements with multiple car companies for battery swapping business and announced on May 31 that NIO Energy has received CNY 1.5 billion strategic financing from Wuhan Guangchuang Fund. BaaS provides a car-electricity separation driving mode, reducing the threshold for car purchases and providing users with more supplementary energy options. In addition, in March, the company further lowered the starting price of BaaS to cope with the fiercely competitive industry. The bank believes that the company is expected to reduce technology and operation and maintenance costs with the full life cycle management of batteries. It can support diversified pricing strategies without affecting profits. Overall, the business model of the company's charging and battery swapping services is clear.

NIO is expected to stabilize its basic sales and LeDao opens up the mass market increase.

Recently, the company officially released the LeDao brand and entered the mainstream household user market. The first SUV, LeDao L60, has a pre-sale price starting at CNY 219,900, which is expected to bring incremental contributions through a cost-effective route. At the same time, the BaaS solution is expected to become the core differentiating competitiveness for LeDao to enter the price range of 200,000 yuan. For the main brand, the company has deep technical accumulation. It is expected to stabilize sales through technical mass production. At the end of April, it iterated the full-domain navigation assistant NOP+ function, improving performance such as lane centering assistance and all-scenario misoperation suppression. Looking forward to the whole year, the company plans to increase end-to-end R&D investment and talent recruitment, and plans to launch end-to-end active safety functions by 2024.