NIO (NYSE:NIO) expects its profitability target for the fourth quarter of 2025 to remain achievable, founder, chairman, and chief executive William Li said during an internal company meeting held on January 14, 2026, according to reports.

Li told employees that NIO delivered 40,000 units of the all-new ES8 in the fourth quarter, with each vehicle generating a stable gross margin, supporting management’s confidence in the profitability timeline. He added that over the next three to five years, the company aims to sustain annual growth of 40% to 50%.

The internal address marked Li’s first company-wide briefing of the year and outlined both near-term execution priorities and longer-term structural changes, with artificial intelligence positioned as a central lever for operational efficiency and product competitiveness.

Li said NIO’s immediate priorities include ensuring the on-time and high-quality delivery of three new vehicle models during the year. He also highlighted increased investment in intelligent driving, noting that despite ongoing resource constraints, the company has allocated a dedicated computing power budget to the autonomous driving team. NIO plans to release three major intelligent driving software versions within the year, with the stated goal of returning to the industry’s leading tier.

Beyond vehicle development, Li emphasized the systematic deployment of AI across the company’s entire value chain. He said NIO is building a company-level AI capability framework that spans research and development, manufacturing, supply chain operations, sales, finance, and human resources, with the aim of improving efficiency across all business units.

During the same meeting, Li shared his personal VAU (Vision Action Upgrade) plan for the full year of 2026. According to Li, NIO will further increase investment in artificial intelligence next year and expects all employees to adopt AI tools and workflows in a structured and consistent manner. He said the breadth and depth of NIO’s business create both challenges and opportunities for AI deployment, requiring stronger organizational coordination and technical foundations.

Earlier this month, on January 5, NIO announced internally the formation of an Artificial Intelligence Technology Committee, also referred to as the AGI Committee. The committee’s initial core membership includes nearly 30 AI specialists drawn from 15 first-level departments. Its mandate includes tracking industry-wide AI technology trends to support corporate strategy, mapping and iterating internal AI capabilities to enable cross-domain reuse, and building a company-wide AI technology and talent community.

NIO’s renewed focus on efficiency comes as the company posted record delivery volumes in 2025. In the fourth quarter alone, total vehicle deliveries reached 124,807 units, representing a year-on-year increase of 71.7%. Quarterly deliveries for all three of NIO’s brands reached historical highs during the period.

The NIO-branded lineup delivered 67,433 vehicles in the fourth quarter, up 27.8% from a year earlier. The ONVO brand delivered 38,290 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 92.1%. The Firefly brand delivered 19,084 vehicles, marking a 52.8% increase from the previous quarter.

For the full year 2025, NIO delivered 326,028 vehicles, also a record, representing year-on-year growth of 46.9%. The NIO brand accounted for 178,806 units, ONVO delivered 107,808 vehicles, and Firefly contributed 39,414 units.

Cumulative deliveries reached 997,592 vehicles as of the end of 2025. By brand, cumulative deliveries stood at 829,609 units for NIO, 128,569 units for ONVO, and 39,414 units for firefly.

Li did not disclose specific pricing, margin targets, or timelines for the three upcoming models in his internal remarks. However, the combination of rising delivery volumes, improving gross margins on new models, and a company-wide push to integrate AI into both products and operations suggests that NIO is prioritizing scale discipline alongside technology investment.