Chinese Tesla rival Nio trims IPO target: now aims to raise up to $1.5B —TechCrunch
What happened: Chinese electric vehicle startup NIO has lowered its expected fundraising at the NYSE from $1.8 billion expected in August to $1.518 billion. The company plans to sell 184 million shares between $6.25-$8.25. Existing investors have committed to investing $250 million into the IPO, according to NIO. So far, the company has been backed by Tencent, Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, and a private equity fund established by Baidu.
Why it’s important: Some are blaming the price lowering on China-US trade tensions while others believe that the poor financial performance of Tesla is spooking investors. But there may be other factors involved. Last week, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) required 30 EV makers to stop production and invited greater supervision. Although NIO was not listed among them, this was not a good advertisement for Chinese EV makers. The MIIT announcement came shortly after WM Motor’s engine spontaneously combusted just one month before a mass delivery of the cars to customers.