Tesla Rival Nio Says It Will Cut R&D Spending By Around 25% To Meet 'Breakeven Target' Amid Europe Expansion Plans

Nio Inc. NIO will cut its spending by over 25% to meet the Q4 break-even target as the company gears up to expand into Europe.

What Happened: "We have majorly merged the R&D resources of the NIO brand, Amo brand, and the Fly brand to further improve the overall efficiency of our R&D activities," company CEO William Li said at Nio's earnings call with Investors on Tuesday.

He then went on to say that the company's efforts to improve efficiency by consolidating teams, as well as roles, will result in "much tighter control over spending."

"In Q4, as we also have the breakeven target, we aim to control our R&D expenses to be within 2 to 2.5 billion Yuan (about $278 – $347 million) per quarter. That represents a 20 to 25% year-over-year decrease from last year." Li said.

The CEO also touched upon Nio's global plans. "In international expansion, NIO has partnered with more than 10 local partners in over 15 core markets worldwide," before adding that the company will introduce the Firefly EV by Q3 in "various markets" throughout the globe.

Why It Matters: Nio reported a 40.1% YoY increase in deliveries at the earnings call, delivering 23,900 vehicles in April 2025 and 23,231 vehicles in May 2025. However, the automaker reported a 38.9% decline in revenue.

The company also reported a 13.1% increase in monthly deliveries for May, including 13,270 vehicles from Nio as well as deliveries from subsidiaries Onvo and Firefly.

The Firefly EV, which was supposed to launch earlier, has been delayed by the company and Nio is also said to be developing right-hand drive variants of the car for the UK and SEA.

Price Action: NIO gained 2.27% in Pre-market and is currently trading on the NYSE at $3.61, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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