Shares of Niu Technologies (NASDAQ: NIU) were up 2.8% in morning trade on Tuesday after the company released its e-scooter sales volume results for the first quarter of 2021 and provided an update on its new products.
Sales results
Niu sold 149,649 e-scooters in Q1 2021, reflecting a year-over-year growth of nearly 273%. Sales in the China market increased 321.5% to 144,654 e-scooters, helped by the expansion of the retail network as well as effective marketing.
The total units of the G0 model sold in Q1 made up nearly 40% of total China market volume. The sales price and gross margin of the G0 model are lower than other models and a high proportion of sales volume from this model impacts blended revenues per scooter and overall Q1 2021 gross margin negatively. Excluding the G0 model, sales in the China market rose nearly 155% to 87,467 e-scooters.
Sales in the international markets fell 14.5% YoY to 4,995 e-scooters, mainly due to challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic such as the lockdowns in Europe and difficulties in international shipping. At the end of March, the company had backlog orders of over 5,400 units that were not fulfilled within the first quarter.
New products
Niu unveiled four new products in the e-scooter category, primarily for the China market and one new product in the kick-scooter category for international markets. These are the F0, F2, F4 and C0 models which come under the company’s GOVA series. The F0, F2 and C0 models are classified as electric bicycle while the F4 model is classified as electric motorcycle.
The F0 model was launched on Tuesday while the other three will be made available in the coming months. Niu also introduced a new series for the kick-scooter category. The models in this series are expected to be produced and sold in international markets in the latter half of 2021. The company will also upgrade certain functions and components on its MQi and UQi series products.
Stock
The stock has climbed 34% since the beginning of this year and over 400% in the past 12 months.