Yan Li
Analyst · Yating Chen from CICC
Thank you, Kristal. Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. So second quarter of 2025 marked another strong performance for us, building on solid momentum from Q1. So this quarter, our total sales volume reached 350,000 units, representing a 37% year- over-year increase. In the China market, the sales volume surged by 54% to 318,000 units, continuing the growth trend in Q1. The overseas market recorded a 31,000 units, a 35% year-over-year decline, mainly due to the impact of the U.S. tariff, coupled with intensifying competition in the European market for the micromobility segments, while in overseas market, our electric 2-wheelers continue to grow at 4x. However, we have seen positive signs on the structural improvements in our overseas operations, which I will elaborate on in the subsequent sections. Our revenue and gross margin also demonstrated a strong improvement this quarter. Revenue reached RMB 1.26 billion, a year-over- year growth of 35% -- 34%, while the gross margin stood at 20.1 percentage, up 3.1% year-over-year or 2.8 percentage quarter-over- quarter compared to Q1. As previously mentioned, this positive outcome is primarily driven by the product portfolio optimization and cost reduction achieved through product -- platformization of our products and components. We also achieved net profit of RMB 5.9 million, where we are still navigating the challenges on the profitability front, our disciplined execution and the focused strategy continue to position us well for both the revenue and profit growth. The performance of this quarter reaffirm our growth strategy from product development, technology innovation, expanded sales channels to brand management. Our teams have delivered strong results across all those fronts. I will now provide more details, starting with our progress in the China market. In China market, Q2 sales, as I mentioned, reached about 318,000 units, representing 54% year-over-year growth. Although this volume growth rate is 12% lower compared with the Q1 results of year-over-year growth rate of 66%. The actual revenue growth from scooters year-over-year for China is 45%, 6 percentage higher than the Q1 results. As mentioned in the last call, we observed the ASP decline in Q1 as we introduced 2 entry-level models of MT and MMT in the market responsible for the ASP drop and partially responsible for the high volume growth in Q1. In Q2, as we continue to optimize our product portfolio, the ASP increased by 11% compared with Q1 and the Q2 ASP is back close to the 2024 annual level. Now in 2024 last year, our development effort in product was centered around the electric bicycle product with lot of NXT, NT, MT and has driven a strong growth since then. In the first half of this year, we really focused on electric motorcycle product development to really strengthen our position in this sector. As we mentioned in the previous quarter, we launched NX Pro Electric Motorcycle priced at RMB 9,999 positioned as a speed champion among the sub RMB 10,000 electric motorcycles. In Q2, we may expand our high-end electric motorcycle lineup by introducing 3 core models, NXL, NL and FX Pro covering a price range from RMB 4,000 to over RMB 10,000. All those models are equipped with advanced intelligent features aligning with our new performance and safety standard, such as a full color TFT display with screen mirror navigation, the OkGo technology, boosting a top speed between 55 to 80 kilometer per hour, undergoing comprehensive upgrade in handling and performance and delivering a premium intelligent experience. Those models account for 12% of our total sales volume in Q2. Now building on that momentum, we introduced NX in July, an entry-level smart e-motorcycle price between RMB 3,599 to RMB 4,499. The NX is built for young urban riders, featuring a compact nimble body, 100-kilometer extended range and intelligent features such as a dual-way throttle and downhill assist. Those functionality typically reserved for premium model are now accessible in the sub RMB 4,000 e-motorcycle segment, giving NX a strong potential to capture this rapid market share. Now with those add-ons, we have a complete lineup of motorcycle product in the N-Series ranging from RMB 3,599 entry-level product to a sub RMB 10,000 high-speed motorcycle product. We also launched -- with the launch of FX Pro, we also have a good lineup of F-Series product with more to come in the second half of this year. The current electric motorcycle sales only represent less than 20% of our total volume with much more growth potential. Now talking about the new national standard for the electric bicycle product, which will take effect in September 1. This new regulation will have set a new requirement for electrical bicycle product, such as a percentage of plastic being used, the total weight and the form factors. We are developing new product lines and modifying the existing product lines to comply with the new requirements. Those products that fit with the new requirements will be rolled out in September and Q4 this year. The new requirement required the manufacturer to stop shipping old standard product by August 31. However, it allows distributors and retailers to continue to sell old standard product until November 30. Hence, with the prepared new product as well as extra buffer time for the retailer to sell the old standard product, we expect a rather smooth transition from old standard to the new standard in Q4. Now we continue to invest in technology innovation, mainly focusing on smart technology and powertrain systems. On the smart technology side, we continue to focus on the seamless driving experience via Smart Control Assistance and AI Smart Ecosystem features. As safety continues to be an important topic for 2-wheeler mobility in Q1, primarily focused on enhancing driving safety, gradually rolling out features such as a driver dynamic safety warning system developed in collaboration with [ Galileo Maps ]. Additionally, more products are standardized to meet our new safety standards, equipped with screen mirror navigations, millimeter- wave radar and dual-channel ABS. We're the industry first introduced the dual-channel ABS adoption in electric bicycles in 2024 under our NXT model in Q2 last year. After 1 year of continuous development integration, we have incorporated dual-channel ABS in many of our electric bicycle models. As of now about 1/3 of electric bicycle models sold are equipped with ABS covering from old to mid- to high-end electric bicycle series. Now in Q2, we focused ship to the implementation of AI Smart Control Assistance with launch of features such as the dual-way throttle and downhill assist. Leveraging the sensors and gyroscope installed across the scooter, we monitor its real-time status such as the low-speed driving mode as well as the steering direction and angle data. With our proprietary algorithms, we use those data to develop smart control system to provide a driver assistant functionalities such as assisted pushing or reverse backing and parking functions, making the consumers' control experience more effortless and convenient. In the powertrain system, we continue to collaborate with industry-leading battery -- battery suppliers to really develop a forward- looking R&D initiatives and technology adaptations on new battery technologies. Those innovations will be released in subsequent quarters. In Q2, our brand strategy is centered along, align the product launch with high-impact marketing milestones events to demonstrate our technology innovation. We showcased our technology powers on the tracks. On May 23, we have professional research setting a China record of lap time of 2 minutes 58 seconds with our NX model on the Shanghai F1 Circuit. In the product launch dynamics, our May 13 [ O-Star ] e-motorcycle launching with NXL, NL and FX that will emerge as a sales sensation, taking RMB 100 million GMV within just 5 hours and moving over 10,000 units across all online platforms. This momentum continued into the 618 shopping campaign, where we surpassed our previous record with RMB 1.06 billion in GMV, 128% year-over-year surge, fueled by a massive live streaming session. The campaign generated about 1.56 billion impressions, further solidifying our premium brand positioning in 37 key urban markets. And in July 17, we saw another successful launch with our NXT Ultra and FXT Ultra models, joining about 49 million views and 3.6 million live streaming viewers. Within 5 hours, those models achieved a staggering 20,000 units sold and RMB 220 million in GMV, securing top rankings across all major e-commerce platforms. To celebrate our remarkable 10th anniversary, we also sponsored a play festival on June 1 with 30,000 participants, among which many are [ NIU ] users. The total view of such an event reached 220 million. Now in terms of content placement, our Q2 media campaign capped a wide, yet a targeted campaign spanning 41 cities and included over 500,000 outdoor placements across 6 major urban series. Online engagement on platforms like Douyin, Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Bilibili, partnering with over -- with 1,000 creators across 12 verticals and generated 4 billion exposures. By the quarter end, the total campaign expression exceeded 4.5 billion, underscoring the effectiveness of our integrated brand approach. Now speaking of channel expansion, we have continued our previous strategy with strong focus on penetrating the previous underrepresented market in China. We're strategically expanding our retail footprint to ensure that product reach a broader consumer base. In Q2, we expanded our retail footprint by a net add 185 new stores with significant focus on Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities, which accounts for 50% of net adds. Year-to-date, we have net adds totaled 569 stores. This strategic expansion not only refined our distribution network, but also laid a solid foundation for the upcoming product launch in the second half of the year. Now with those efforts in the first half, the percentage of sales from Tier 3 plus cities grew by 4 percentage points in terms of contributions, demonstrating our successful effort in penetrating the lower-tier cities. Additionally, our online presence has been significantly strengthened with sales performance improving across multiple online channels, our currently managed 11 official branded accounts, a 48 localized account and close to 800 store accounts. Those multi-tier strategy have hosted about 20,000 live broadcasts, generated about 620 million views, an 8x increase compared with last year. This robust [ news ] online visibility and customer interactions contributing about 250,000 units in sales, representing 77% of total sales volume. Now turning into our overseas business. We recorded a total sales volume of 30,000 units -- 31,000 units in Q2, representing a 35% year-over-year decline. However, the scooter revenues declined by only 20% as electric 2-wheeler products started to contribute more in the sales with higher ASP. The sales at the micromobility declined by 41% due to the impact, as mentioned, traffic -- tariff-driven adjustment in the U.S. market and the pressure from intensive price competition in the key European market. Now let's first talk about electric moped segments. Our strategic transition to a direct distribution model in key markets begin to yield tangible results. In Q2, we delivered over 3,200 electric 2-wheeler units in overseas market, marking a more than 4x increase compared with the same period last time. And close to 45% of those sales are engineered from our direct distributor channels, making a significant shift from last year and confirming the growth traction of our direct sales approach. Our core market, including Germany and Italy, have now secured a top position in market share, a direct outcome of this robust and efficient direct distribution system we have built in the past years. Our retail network for the direct distributor regions have also expanded. In Q2, we increased the number of direct distributed stores from 181 to 244, adding 63 locations. This figure is 3x the number of stores we had during the same period last year and aligns closely with our target of building a 250 stores network. On the micromobility segment, it declined by 41% year-over-year, although we saw a 50% quarter-over-quarter increase. The year-over-year downturn is primarily attributed to challenging market conditions in Europe and United States market where the emerging bright spot emerged in the Asian market. Our U.S. sales declined by 17% in Q2, particularly due to strategic channel management and market trend shift. In Q2, the retail and sell-through prices were not adjusted to reflect the recent tariff changes. To avoid channel staffing, we proactively reduced the selling volume. Notably, the activation number, basically the sell number to the consumers still grew by 10% year-on-year, indicate a healthy end user demand. We also observed the customer preference in the U.S. are trending towards the low to mid-pricing scooters, leading to a decline in sales of our premium scooter models. To address this, we have provided our entry-level K90 model, which is scheduled to be launched in Q4. Now the European market faced a significant headwind due to intensified price competition across key markets, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain. This aggressive pricing environment pressured our sales performance in the region, contributing substantial overall segment decline. Now in contrast to the Europe and the United States market, the Asian market delivered healthy growth with 21% year-over-year increase. This positive performance reflected strong market demand and effective execution of our regional strategy. On the retail coverage side, our channel expansion reached maturity with over 2,100 retail locations now carrying new mobility product globally. A key highlight in Q2 is our participation in the Best Buy Achievers event in the U.S., where we connected with top-performing sales associates, conducted 68 test rides and explored new service partnerships such as in-store repair solutions with Best Buy's Geek Squad. Those interactions paved the way for a deeper retail integration and long-term growth in the United States market. Now looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the performance both of China and overseas market in the second half of the year. In China, we believe in Q3 we benefit from the both seasonal trends, the strong product momentum and the potential temporary demand surge due to the new regulations. The launch of highly competitive NX electric motorcycle and upgrade the -- also upgraded smart electric bicycle product in Q2 has positioned us effectively to meet evolving consumer preferences. Our channel expansion efforts throughout 2024 and the first half 2025 are the second driver to the sales growth as we target to add about 1,000-plus stores for entire 2025. We have net, added about 589 stores in the first half with more to come in Q4 and -- in Q3 and Q4. Furthermore, the upcoming implementation of new national regulation for electric bicycles indicate that the manufacturers cannot manufacture old standard bicycles after August 31 and retailers cannot sell old standard bicycles after November 30. This will in turn drive distributors to build up inventories in Q3 and also drive a bit demand surge in Q4 as consumers won't be able to buy the old standard product after November 30. And also our effort in the product portfolio optimization and platformization has also demonstrated positive results in gross margin improvement and ASP improvement. Looking forward, we are confident that we can maintain a healthy gross margin and stable ASP throughout the second half of the year. Now looking forward for the overseas market, we're on a path towards recovery and profitability. The significant growth in the electric 2-wheeler i.e. electric motorcycle and moped sales and the strong performance of our direct distributor regions this year validated both the market competitiveness of our products and the retail capability of our channels. Our direct distributed electric moped business has demonstrated a distinct local advantage by adhering the strategy of continue to expand store in this direct distributed regions, we expect to continue the growth trend as we observed in Q2. In the micromobility segment, we're closing the gap between the losses and breakeven. In the U.S. market, as tariffs are finalized clear for the Southeast Asia and China, we continue to negotiate a price increase for existing product with retailers and roll out a low- cost version for better -- to better address market. This will help the U.S. market to turn profitability. In the European market, we're planning to recover from a decline in first half and focus more on the profitability in the selected market. Now with that, let me turn the call to Fion.