Wall Street Journalさんのインスタグラム写真 - (Wall Street JournalInstagram)「A year ago, the Chinese electric-vehicle startup NIO neared bankruptcy. Its subsequent revival to become the world’s fourth most valuable auto maker—only Tesla, Toyota and Volkswagen are worth more by market capitalization—is a measure of investors’ seesawing faith in Chinese EV startups, which for years promised a high-tech automotive revolution that proved elusive.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ From its founding in 2014, NIO led a pack of Chinese EV startups that became a magnet for investors seeking the next Tesla. But many investors eventually lost confidence, frustrated by the loss-making companies’ limited progress.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Once feted in the local media as “China’s Tesla killer,” the company lost $3.67 billion between 2017 and 2019 while selling fewer than 32,000 cars. NIO shares, worth about $10 when the company went public, sank to $1.39 late last year as investors fled. As it entered a make-or-break phase in late 2019, the company had one advantage that most other startups lacked, according William Li, NIO’s founder and chief executive. It was actually selling cars, with the roughly 8,000 vehicles it delivered in the fourth quarter of last year generating $400 million in precious cash flow.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ A savior soon arrived: the government of Hefei, a city about 300 miles west of Shanghai in Li’s home province of Anhui that has emerged as a center of EV production. NIO agreed to a $683 million financing package with the city’s officials in April.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ The company's shares have since rallied, topping $57 on Nov. 25 before falling back slightly. As of Friday, the company had a market capitalization of about $73.6 billion, still well short of Tesla’s $555 billion valuation.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Read more at the link in our bio.⁠⠀ ⁠⠀ Photo: Tingshu Wang/Reuters」12月4日 9時02分