Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) announced over the week that it would be stopping production at its facilities as supply chain issues wracked the company.
China's "Zero COVID" policy has had the unintended side effect of triggering broader supply chain dysfunction as factories struggle to maintain regular production schedules. COVID restrictions have made transportation to factories in affected cities such as Shanghai more difficult. As it pertains to Nio, suppliers have had to temporarily halt production to conserve remaining supplies, forcing the EV maker into a sympathetic halt.
With many pieces of technology used in EVs in scarcity, not just in China but worldwide, the prices of components such as microchips have skyrocketed. Facing those rising prices, Nio has hiked the prices of its ES6, EC6, and ES8 SUVs to soften the blow. The cost of the company's ET5 and ET7 sedans will remain the same.
In a statement released by the company, CEO William Li noted that the company believed it could handle ongoing pressures but that the recent lockdowns left them with no alternatives.
Fortunately for Nio, other automakers have been forced to raise prices too. EV heavyweight Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) raised its prices to cope with the rising costs, as have two of Nio's local competitors; Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV) and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI).
Production halts at car factories have been a recurring obstacle for automakers throughout the pandemic, with major firms such as Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) shuttering factories intermittently. Currently, Nio isn't the only car company halting production in China, with Tesla and Volkswagen (OTC: VWAGY) sending employees home during Shanghai's lockdown.
Due to pandemic pressures, Nio's shares have been locked in a slow decline for the first quarter of the calendar year, with Monday being no exception. The EV maker's stock price slid 1.5% on Monday, recovering somewhat after a significant pre-market drop.