(Yicai Global) Oct. 30 -- Nio, an electric car startup that ran up a financial red flag at the end of last year, has just become China’s most valuable publicly traded automaker after hitting a key production milestone.

Dubbed the Tesla of China, Nio’s shares [NYSE: NIO] jumped over 16 percent in New York yesterday to an historic high of USD32.20. The rally came on the same day as the Shanghai-based company hit a monthly production record of 5,000 units, according to media outlet the Paper.

At USD43.6 billion, Nio’s market cap now surpasses that of SAIC Motor, China’s leading maker of gas-fueled cars. Shares of Nio, which went public in the US in September 2018, have gained in value more than seven times this year as the company boosted production and sales.

The first Chinese maker of upscale new energy vehicles, it has raised billions of dollars more this year from investors and the sale of additional shares after announcing in December that it lacked the funds to finance itself for another year. In February, it secured CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) from the Hefei city government, after which the firm decided to build its Chinese headquarters in the eastern city.

Nio delivered nearly 26,400 vehicles in the first three quarters of the year, which is more than it did during the entire of 2019. Its sales have risen every month since March. In September, it delivered a record 4,700-plus units, more than double that from a year earlier. 

Founded in 2014, Nio has debuted two models after its first sport-utility vehicle Nio ES8 in late 2017.

Editor: Emmi Laine