BlackRock also trimmed XPeng, while increasing its Lucid and Rivian holdings to record levels.
- BlackRock cut its Nio stake by 12%, selling 1.2 million shares during the second quarter.
- The reduction partially reversed two quarters of aggressive accumulation in Nio shares.
- Nio delivered 20,000 ES9 SUVs within 73 days, setting a record in China’s premium EV segment.
U.S.-listed shares of Nio, Inc. (NIO) slid 3% overnight late Monday after BlackRock disclosed a nearly 12% stake reduction, overshadowing record-setting demand for the Chinese automaker’s flagship ES9.
Nio’s U.S.-listed shares jumped 2% on Monday, logging their second straight session of gains.
BlackRock Cuts Nio Stake
BlackRock reduced its Nio stake by 12% in the second quarter (Q2), selling 1.2 million shares to end June with 9.5 million shares. The world’s largest asset manager valued the stake at $47.9 million on June 30. Based on Friday’s closing price, the holding was worth about $44.8 million.
The sale reversed part of two quarters of aggressive accumulation. BlackRock nearly doubled its position in the first quarter by purchasing 5.15 million shares, following a 153% increase during the final quarter of 2025. BlackRock also took a more cautious approach toward Chinese EV stocks, while expanding its exposure to U.S. manufacturers.
The firm cut its XPeng stake by 24% to 2.2 million shares. Meanwhile, it nearly doubled its Lucid Group position to a record 12 million shares, extending its buying streak to seven consecutive quarters. BlackRock also raised its Rivian holding to a record 56.4 million shares as the automaker began deliveries of its R2 midsize SUV. The firm remains Tesla’s second-largest institutional shareholder, holding 214 million shares worth more than $90 billion.
ES9 Sets Premium EV Delivery Record
Nio delivered its 20,000th ES9 on Saturday, just 73 days after customer handovers began. The company said the milestone established a new delivery record for premium all-electric vehicles in China’s 500,000-yuan ($73,630) segment, CnEVPost reported.
Launched on May 27, the ES9 reached 10,000 deliveries by June 26. The second batch of 10,000 vehicles took six weeks. The SUV starts at 498,000 yuan with the battery included or 390,000 yuan under Nio’s battery-as-a-service plan. Demand continues to outstrip supply. Wait times for higher trims stand at 13 to 14 weeks after previously reaching 16 to 17 weeks, while the entry-level model carries a three-to-four-week wait.
Basketball Hall of Famer Yao Ming, the model’s chief experience officer, waited more than two months for his ES9 after ordering it on launch night.
Premium Models Lift Nio Margins
Deutsche Bank estimated that the ES9 had secured more than 25,000 non-cancelable orders by June and raised its full-year delivery forecast for the vehicle to 56,000 units.
Higher-priced models are also supporting Nio’s push toward profitability. The main Nio brand’s average selling price reached 434,600 yuan in July after hitting 443,000 yuan in June. Deutsche Bank expects the company to achieve non-GAAP breakeven in the second quarter, aided by higher-margin vehicles. Nio has yet to announce its earnings date.
The automaker delivered 35,934 vehicles in July, up 71% year-over-year. Deliveries during the first seven months of 2026 climbed 68% to 227,057 units.
How Do Retail Traders Feel About NIO?
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for NIO was ‘bearish’ amid a 232% jump in 24-hour message volumes.
One user said, “$NIO not even 11 million shares. Options premiums are way off normal. Interest in Chinese EV stocks seems to have disappeared.”
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Another user said, “$NIO I mean this just shows BlackRock’s anti-China stance, cutting their China EV tickers drastically but bumping up their Rivian and Lucid holdings aggressively. Rivian and Lucid hardly produce cars in comparison, and when compared to NIO they’re still behind on tech too. It’s just a geopolitical game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Feds back channel push BlackRock and others to do this.”
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Nio’s U.S.-listed shares have declined 0.4% over the past year.
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