NIU Technologies Q1 revenue grew by over 30%, but it still has not turned the corner.

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On May 18, NIU Technologies released its unaudited financial results for the first quarter of 2026. In the context of the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry fully entering a phase of stock competition and intelligentization, this financial report shows a clear divergence of financial characteristics.

During the period, the company achieved revenue of 909.5 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.4%, with gross margin rising to 17.4%; however, at the same time, its quarterly net loss expanded to 93.9 million yuan, and the adjusted net loss (non-GAAP) reached 88 million yuan.

Behind the financial appearance of “revenue growth, gross margin improvement but larger losses,” NIU Technologies is undergoing deep business strain and a restructuring of its business logic.

Specifically, NIU Technologies was able to achieve a 33.4% revenue growth in the first quarter primarily due to the strong recovery of the domestic Chinese market.

In the past two years, NIU faced challenges in domestic channel integration and product iteration, but recently the company accelerated its pace of new product launches, especially rolling out several high-end models equipped with cutting-edge smart interactive systems aimed at the younger generation of consumers.

These moves have effectively driven up end-customer traffic and conversion rates. The high growth in domestic vehicle sales confirms that its brand strength is stabilizing and rebounding in core cities.

However, in contrast to its strong domestic performance, its international business is under pressure. Uncertainties in the overseas macroeconomic environment, substantial reductions in subsidies in some key markets, and the lagging effects of high inventory depletion have put its overseas business in a phase of passive defense. The structural divergence of "hot at home, cold abroad" is the most objective business feature of NIU at this stage.

The main focus of market discussion for this quarterly report is the sharp divergence between gross margin and net profit indicators.

Amid frequent price wars in the industry, NIU’s ability to raise gross margin to 17.4% releases a positive signal at the operational level. This indicates that the company has not blindly compromised on low pricing to grab market share, but has instead maintained the premium of its tech brand by increasing the proportion of high-value model sales.

However, the reason for the sustained expansion of losses hides within high operating expenses.

On the one hand, facing the absolute dominance of traditional giants in lower-tier markets and the step-by-step competition from direct rivals on the high-end intelligence track, NIU must maintain intensive marketing investments to capture the attention of target users.

On the other hand, the industry's "intelligent arms race" brings a heavy R&D burden.

The two-wheeled EV sector has entered the second half, focusing on assisted driving and vehicle ecosystem. As an industry pioneer, NIU has to keep investing in core algorithm and hardware R&D to maintain its position. Such strategic upfront spending directly devours the thin profit margin improvements.

Placing NIU’s financial report in the broader industry context, one can observe dramatic changes in the industry landscape.

As a domestic pioneer in smart lithium battery two-wheeled EVs, NIU once enlightened the market with minimalist original design and the lithium battery boom. But now the industry’s rules have fundamentally shifted to an ecosystem battle centered on full-cycle user experience.

Currently, the traditional top two players maximize cost-efficiency with strong vertically integrated supply chains, while geeky competitors are constantly innovating in intelligent experiences.

Beset on all sides, NIU not only needs to address its own risk exposure from highly relying on a single travel business, but must also demonstrate to capital markets that its intelligence strategy can translate into concrete profit.

Overall, NIU’s first quarter report is a typical performance sheet for a period of strategic growing pains.

Counter-trend revenue growth and recovering gross margin prove that its high-end product strategy continues to match core consumer demand; but the expanded net loss also starkly reveals the high cost of trial and competition during the industry’s intelligence transformation period.

In the future stock competition, NIU faces the ultimate test of how to showcase more refined corporate governance in areas such as supply chain management, internal cost control, and breaking through in overseas markets. Successfully crossing the profit inflection point of “revenue growth without profit growth” will be key to determining whether this pioneer can truly hold its position in the second half of the race.

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