NIO Inc. (NIO  ) shares are trading higher on Thursday. Nio's Onvo currently has 180 store managers in China, with 40% hailing from Tesla, Inc. (TSLA  ) and 27% from Li Auto (LI  ), according to Xia Qinghua, head of Onvo's user and service operations, CnEV Post reports.

The competition stories between NIO and Tesla is not new! Earlier this May, NIO reportedly reached an agreement with larger competitor BYD Co., Ltd. (BYDDY  ) to obtain batteries for a new EV brand positioned in a lower price range, targeting competition with Tesla, according to a Reuters report.

Meanwhile, Onvo is officially set to launch the L60 later today. The L60 first appeared on May 15 and opened for pre-orders at a promotional price of RMB219,900, which includes the battery.

This price is RMB30,000 lower than the current Tesla Model Y starting price in China.

Qinghua started a 20,000-kilometer long-distance journey across China in an Onvo L60 on August 15, shortly after the first production vehicle was completed.

He shared these details during a conversation with Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li while in the car, near the conclusion of the trip today, CnEV Post added.

Onvo opened its first 105 stores in China on September 1, and the total number of stores has now reached 120.

Price Action: NIO shares are trading higher by 6.87% to $5.37 at the last check on Thursday.