William Li confirmed that the company began collaborating with British supercar brand McLaren in the first quarter on electrification and battery technology, yielding revenues of several hundred million.
On September 3, NIO founder and CEO William Li told reporters at the company’s Shanghai Caohejing headquarters that despite widespread skepticism, the automaker still aims to turn a profit in the fourth quarter of 2025. “For a long time, probably less than 1% of people believed we could achieve profitability by then,” Li said.
According to NIO’s second-quarter financial report, revenue reached RMB 19.01 billion ($2.66 billion), up 9% year-on-year and 57.9% quarter-on-quarter. Overall gross margin recovered to 10%, while net loss narrowed by nearly 30% to around RMB 5 billion ($700 million). Third-quarter deliveries are projected at 87,000–91,000 units, with revenue of RMB 21.8–22.2 billion ($3.05–3.11 billion).
Li noted that to hit profitability in Q4, NIO would need to sustain monthly deliveries above 50,000 units, keep gross margin at 16%–17%, and tightly manage R&D and sales expenses.
More attention, however, is falling on a new revenue stream. For the first time, NIO disclosed technology service income in its Q2 report. Li confirmed the company began collaborating in Q1 with British supercar maker McLaren on electrification and battery technologies, which contributed “hundreds of millions of RMB” in revenue.
NIO’s “other sales” income for the quarter came in at RMB 2.8726 billion ($402 million), up 62.6% year-on-year, driven mainly by used car sales and external tech services, with McLaren as a key client.
“Our major shareholder Abu Dhabi has acquired McLaren, and in fact we’ve exported certain technologies to McLaren. That’s where this revenue mainly comes from,” Li explained, though he cautioned that the income remains volatile.
Public records show that Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund CYVN Holdings has invested around $3.3 billion in NIO since 2023 and, in April this year, completed its acquisition of McLaren’s automotive and parts of its racing business.
Under CYVN’s coordination, NIO also signed a technology licensing deal with McLaren’s new partner Forseven, covering EV platforms, software, and intellectual property. Plans include developing large cylindrical 4680 battery cells for McLaren’s hybrid models, with limited production expected in 2026.
Li stressed that the ultimate battleground in the auto industry is product competitiveness. With vehicle sales showing signs of recovery and tech service revenue broadening, NIO is banking on both pillars to support its push toward profitability in the fourth quarter.
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