Nio loses $35,000 per car it sells, maintains government backing, NY Times says

Nio employs 11,000 people in research and development, but only sells 8,000 cars a month, Keith Bradsher of The New York Times reports. The company offers $350 augmented reality glasses for each seat in its cars, has introduced a cellphone that interacts with the car’s self-driving system, and employs 30 technicians to make 300,000 electric car motors a year. None of this, however, is profitable and the company lost $835M from April to June, or $35,000 for each car it sold. Nio and other companies in China’s electric car sector have formidable government backing, which allows them to withstand massive losses and keep growing.