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Investing.com-- Hong Kong-listed shares of NIO Inc (HK:9866) rose sharply on Friday after the company’s launch of a new electric vehicle, the Onvo L90 SUV, was positively received, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) reiterating its Overweight rating.
Nio’s Hong Kong shares rallied 7.3% to HK$29.60 by the midday break, outpacing a 1.9% jump in the Hang Seng index.
Pre-sales for the Onvo L90 opened on Thursday, with prices starting at 279,900 yuan ($39,000) for the 85-kWh model, and 193,900 yuan for the battery as a service model.
The large SUV is packed with features usually found in more expensive models, including 900V charging, AR-HUD, air suspension, and smart driving features based on Nvidia’s Orin-X platform.
This positions the new EV as a major competitor to similar 6-seater SUVs from Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), Xpeng (NYSE:XPEV), and Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF), Morgan Stanley analysts said, with its pricing also being highly competitive.
Morgan Stanley noted that despite its competitive offering, the Onvo L90 still faces potential challenges from an “unsatisfactory track record of execution and inferior brand awareness” for the Nio (NYSE:NIO) subrand.
Nio’s low pricing of the new EV model also comes amid heated competition in the Chinese EV market, as a bitter price war over the past three years showed few signs of stopping.
Xiaomi (HK:1810) had launched its sophomore EV, the YU7, at a lower-than-expected price and a strong reception in June. EV major BYD (SZ:002594) was also seen sharply cutting prices on select models in recent months, raising questions about a potential margin implosion in the sector.
Nio still sold nearly 25,000 EVs in June, up 17.5% from last year.