NIO sustainability score: 33/100
Limited independent evidence: only two independent sources cover this company. The score may change as more evidence appears.
NIO makes and sells battery-electric cars under the NIO, ONVO and FIREFLY brands; vehicle sales were 87.9% of its revenue in 2025 and other sales 12.1%. NIO Inc. was incorporated in the Cayman Islands in 2014 and has its head office in Shanghai.
More about NIO
It delivered 326,028 vehicles in 2025. It had 35,032 full-time employees at 31 December 2025 and CN¥87.5 billion revenue that year.
Founded 2014Head office Shanghai, ChinaStaff ~35,032 (full-time, year-end, 31 December 2025)Revenue ~CN¥87.5B (2025)Website ↗
NIO reports Scope 1 of 30,608 t, market-based Scope 2 of 93,341 t and Scope 3 of 52,181 tCO2e for 2025. That Scope 3 figure leaves out category 1, the materials it buys, and category 11, charging over vehicle life, so the size deduction for an incomplete footprint (0.70x) applies. Scope 1 and 2 fell about 5% to 123,948 t, while deliveries rose about 47%. Renewable energy was about 29% of its energy use. Its target is self-set and per vehicle: a 43% lifecycle cut by 2035 against 2023, with no validated SBTi target found. It reports a 96% battery recycling rate under its swap model.
NIO scores 33/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified November 2026.
That places NIO joint 627th of 986 companies scored, and 9th of 36 in Automotive.
What is NIO doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Controversies & Red Flags (8/10, 8/10). Weakest on Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain and Targets & Commitments (3/10, 3/10).
Where NIO lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain3/10No assessment of where its supply-chain emissions come from.
- Whether its emissions are falling4/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is5/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste6/10No verified figures for reuse and recycling across the business.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets3/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is NIO's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is NIO's score based on?
9 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
33% of them were published by NIO itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“NIO's Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions from its self-operated R&D, manufacturing, warehouse, and office sites amounted to approximately 141,745 tonnes”
“CITI 27.26 / 100 NO.86 / 800”
“Total Scope 1 and 2 emissions on a location-based method fell to 141,745 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2025, from 150,649 tonnes in 2024”
“On March 25, 2023, NIO announced its commitment to join the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)”
“As a member of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), we are committed to sustainable development.”
“In 2024, NIO was included in the FORTUNE CHINA ESG IMPACT LIST, achieved an MSCI ESG rating of AA”
“China’s control over critical battery materials have been feared to lead to environmental damage from intensive mining practices”
“the latter will take over the green power supply for NIO properties that do not directly source electricity from the property owner”
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How does NIO compare with other automotive companies?
Where NIO sits among automotive peers.
Among the 36 major automotive brands we've scored, NIO sits 9th of 36.
Who scores higher in Automotive?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above NIO.
Volvo Cars' footprint was 34,679,000 t CO2 in 2025, down 8% on 2024, and its report says the fall reflects lower car volumes as well as material and use-phase cuts.
See the breakdown →Aston Martin's footprint was 1,084,877 tCO2e in 2025, more than 99% of it in its value chain and about half from the use of the cars it sells.
See the breakdown →Audi reports renewable electricity at all production sites and has met its 2030 Scope 1+2 target early.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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