Yet Li is already sacrificing some of the potential savings. The company has more than doubled its sales force to 5,700 in the past three months, and is spending more than 3 billion yuan to buy manufacturing assets from partner Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (600418.SS). His effort to profitably craft leaner green machines is a work in progress: the cost of sales rose 56% year-on-year, outpacing a 47% rise in revenue despite falling prices of battery materials and fresh financial support from the government. Priced at less than 2 times estimated sales for 2023, per LSEG, Nio is also riding behind peers Xpeng (9868.HK) and Li Auto (2015.HK). (By Katrina Hamlin)
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