After turning in a strong third-quarter performance that sent its stock soaring by about 54%, Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio Inc – ADR (NYSE: NIO) reported December delivery numbers on Monday that exceeded the company's guidance.

Nio's Record Q4 Deliveries

Nio said it delivered 3,170 vehicles in December, up 25.4% month-over-month. The company sold 2,537 E6s and 633 ES8s.

The December numbers marked the fifth straight month of growth after deliveries hit a soft patch in the summer of 2019.

Fourth-quarter deliveries totaled 8,224 vehicles, ahead of the 8,000 Nio guided to alongside its third-quarter print.

Nio's CEO On Weathering Auto, EV Downturn

The strong numbers came despite continuous softness in the overall auto industry, and in particular in EV sales in the second half of 2019, William Li, Nio's founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement.

Apart from quality performance and pricing, sales also benefited from the expansion of the Nio's sales network, he said.

"With our product offerings further deepened and upgraded in 2020 [through] the all-new ES8, the 100-kWh battery pack and the upcoming EC6, a 5-seater smart premium electric coupe SUV, we expect our order momentum to continue going forward."

The automaker's 2019 deliveries totaled 20,565, besting the company's guidance for 20,300 deliveries.

Often referred to by as the Chinese Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), Nio is now competitively challenged by its U.S. peer, which has started rolling out domestically made Model 3 vehicles in China.

Tesla said last week that it delivered 112,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter.

Nio shares were trading 10.7% higher at $4.24 in Monday's premarket session.

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Photo courtesy of Nio.