NIO delivered 109,178 electric vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, a 25.4% increase over last year and right inside the 108,000 to 111,000 range it guided for in September.

But the quarter ended on a weak note. September deliveries grew just 7.7% year-over-year to 37,408 units, the slowest pace of 2026, as the ONVO brand fell 43%.

A quarter that fades month after month

The Chinese EV maker released its September and Q3 numbers today. On the surface, it’s fine: NIO hit its own guidance, year-to-date deliveries are up 49.2% to 300,301 units, and the company has now delivered 1,297,893 vehicles since it started.

The monthly trend is the problem. Growth was 71% in July, 14.5% in August, and 7.7% in September. Part of that is a tougher comparison, since NIO’s volume started ramping in the back half of 2025, but it’s also what’s happening on the ground with ONVO.

NIO deliveries by brand, January to September 2026. Chart: Electrek, data from NIO.

We flagged the slowdown back in May, when NIO’s April deliveries came in up only 22.8% after a 98% first quarter. New flagships bailed out the second quarter. They didn’t do the same for the third.

The NIO brand is carrying the whole company

Break the quarter down by brand and you get three very different stories:

Brand	Q3 2025	Q3 2026	YoY	Sep 2025	Sep 2026	YoY
NIO	36,928	62,500	+69.2%	13,728	21,318	+55.3%
ONVO	37,656	27,728	−26.4%	15,246	8,763	−42.5%
FIREFLY	12,487	18,950	+51.8%	5,775	7,327	+26.9%
Total	87,071	109,178	+25.4%	34,749	37,408	+7.7%

Source: NIO Inc. monthly delivery releases. Q3 brand totals summed from July, August and September.

The premium NIO brand delivered 62,500 vehicles in the quarter, up 69%. That’s almost entirely the All-New ES8, which NIO says just crossed 150,000 cumulative deliveries on its first anniversary. The ES9 flagship SUV added 30,000 deliveries since its launch in May.

FIREFLY, the small premium brand, posted 7,327 deliveries in September, its best month of the year.

ONVO is the opposite. A year ago, it was NIO’s volume engine and outsold the NIO brand in August and September 2025. In Q3, it delivered 27,728 vehicles, down 26%. Its monthly deliveries peaked at 12,029 in May, when the new L80 SUV launched, and have fallen every month since, down to 8,763 in September.

NIO Q3 deliveries by brand, 2025 vs. 2026. Chart: Electrek, data from NIO.

On its Q2 earnings call, management blamed ONVO’s problems on brand awareness, saying it’s roughly where NIO’s own brand was “5 to 6 years ago.” The fix it pointed to is a “major strategic new product” for ONVO in 2027. That’s a long time to wait.

NIO’s own Q4 goal doesn’t get it to its 2026 target

Earlier this year, CEO William Li set a 2026 target of 456,000 to 489,000 deliveries, 40% to 50% growth over the 326,028 vehicles NIO delivered in 2025. After 300,301 deliveries through September, NIO needs between 155,699 and 188,699 in the fourth quarter to land in that range.

That’s 52,000 to 63,000 vehicles a month. NIO’s best month ever is 48,135, set last December.

NIO quarterly deliveries and the Q4 volume needed to hit its 2026 target. Chart: Electrek, data from NIO.

And NIO isn’t promising that. On the Q2 call, it said its Q4 goal is “an average volume of over 40,000 units per month,” and even that assumes China’s car market recovers. Here’s how the scenarios shake out:

Q4 2026 scenario	Q4 deliveries	Monthly avg	2026 total	Growth vs. 2025
NIO’s Q4 goal (40,000/month)	120,000	40,000	420,301	+28.9%
Match Q4 2025	124,807	41,602	425,108	+30.4%
Low end of 2026 target	155,699	51,900	456,000	+39.9%
High end of 2026 target	188,699	62,900	489,000	+50.0%

Source: Electrek calculations based on NIO delivery releases and 2026 guidance.

So NIO’s own Q4 goal lands it roughly 36,000 vehicles short of the low end of its annual target. It would also mean a fourth quarter slightly below the 124,807 it delivered in Q4 2025.

Competitive context

NIO isn’t the only Chinese startup losing steam, as XPeng grew just 3.7% in August. But it’s not leading either. In August, the last month with full data, NIO’s 35,836 deliveries trailed XPeng (39,107), Li Auto (37,679), and Zeekr (36,981), while Leapmotor crossed 103,129, according to the companies’ monthly reports.

On the financial side, things are better than a year ago. NIO posted an 18.5% vehicle margin in Q2, up from 10.3%, and a positive non-GAAP operating profit. It also just sold 30% of its NIO Power battery swap unit to Geely, which brings in cash and a partner to share the swap network’s costs.

Electrek’s Take

The headline number is good. NIO grew 25% in a weak Chinese market and hit its guidance. Nobody should call that a bad quarter.

But the shape of the quarter matters more than the total. NIO is now basically a two-model premium story: the ES8 and ES9 are selling, FIREFLY is growing nicely off a small base, and ONVO, the brand that was supposed to take NIO mainstream against the Model Y, is shrinking fast.

And the 2026 target is gone. NIO doesn’t say so, but it would be extremely difficult to achieve without a massive reversal for the auto industry in China. To hit even the low end, it would need to beat its all-time monthly record by about 8% for three straight months. We don’t see that happening.

That’s not a disaster. A year around 420,000 deliveries would still be close to 30% growth, with margins finally heading the right way.

If you’re shopping for an EV, powering it with home solar can cut your fuel costs to nearly zero. With electricity rates up almost 10% last year and expected to keep climbing, going solar is one of the best ways to protect yourself against rising costs. And with lease and PPA options, you can do it with zero upfront cost and start saving immediately. If you want to find the best deal, check out EnergySage. It’s a free service with hundreds of pre-vetted installers competing for your business, so you save 20 to 30% compared to going it alone. No sales calls until you pick an installer. Get your free quotes here.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.