Ge Long Hui·2025-08-25 08:33Core Viewpoint - NIO's stock price has seen significant pre-market gains, with a notable increase in its H-shares, driven by the launch of the new ES8 model and positive market forecasts from Citigroup [1] Group 1: Stock Performance - NIO's pre-market stock price rose over 5.6%, reaching $6.7, while its H-shares hit a nearly ten-month high, closing up over 15% at HKD 52.7 [1] Group 2: New Model Launch - NIO officially launched the pre-sale of the new ES8 model on August 21, with a starting price of RMB 416,800, and RMB 308,800 when utilizing the Battery as a Service (BaaS) model [1] - NIO's President, Qin Lihong, indicated that the order volume for the new ES8 has already surpassed that of the previous month's Lido L90, although specific order numbers were not disclosed [1] Group 3: Analyst Forecasts - Citigroup set a target price of $8.1 for NIO, citing five key reasons for its "buy" rating: 1) Anticipation of L90 model production exceeding 10,000 units by September 2025 [1] 2) If new ES8 monthly sales reach between 5,000 to 8,000 units with a gross margin of 15% to 20%, it would significantly enhance the company's overall gross margin [1] 3) Strong sales momentum and cost control are expected to lead NIO to achieve breakeven net profit by Q4 2025 [1] 4) The reduction of the vehicle purchase tax in 2026 will favor NIO, as battery costs under the BaaS model are exempt from this tax [1] 5) The anticipated launch of ES9 and L80 models in the first half of 2026, with ES9 positioned as a flagship SUV priced around RMB 500,000 [1]