Niu Technologies

Niu Technologies
TypePublic
ISINUS65481N1000
IndustryVehicle manufacturing, eMobility
Founded2014; 12 years ago (2014)
FounderLi Yi'nan, Token Yilin Hu
Headquarters
Beijing
,
China
Key peopleYan Li
Revenue
  • Decrease US$459 million (2022)
  • US$581 million (2021)
  • Decrease-US$7 million (2022)
  • US$35 million (2021)
Number of employees
500-800
Websitewww.niu.com

Niu Technologies (Chinese: 牛电科技; stylized as NIU) is an electric mobility company headquartered in Beijing, China. Yan Li has been its CEO and COO since December 2017.

NIU is a publicly traded Chinese company that designs, manufactures and sells smart electric two-wheeled vehicles including scooters, mopeds, electric bicycles, kick-scooters, electric motorcycles and ATVs. Niu vehicles include digital displays, Bluetooth connectivity, and mobile apps that let users track their rides, map their routes and monitor battery life.

As of December 31, 2025, NIU had 4,540 franchised stores in China. By June 30, 2026 this had grown to 4,570, with lower-tier cities making up about 36% of the footprint. NIU's Q2 call also reported 417 active overseas dealer locations, up from 307. For its micro-mobility products, NIU developed offline retail channels through partners such as Best Buy in the United States and MediaMarkt in Europe, giving it a presence in over 1,000 physical locations in those regions by the end of 2024.

History

The company was founded in 2014 by Baidu's former chief technology officer, Li Yinan, and Token Yilin Hu. The first Niu scooters were crowdfunded. It differentiated itself by using lithium-ion batteries as opposed to the cheaper lead-acid alternatives widely used in Chinese e-scooters at the time.

In 2018, NIU listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol NIU.

In 2019, Revel Transit launched in New York City with 1,000 Niu electric scooters, later expanding to Washington DC, Austin and Miami. In 2021, the company broadened its portfolio to include electric bikes.

In 2023, NIU announced the XQi3, its first electric dirt bike, offered in both street-legal and off-road versions. The same year it also introduced the KQi3 Max and the KQi Air Series.

NIU turned its focus back to mopeds in 2024, previewing the NQiX Series, a redesign of its NQi-Series. At EICMA 2025 in Milan, the company announced 2026 updates to the range, including onboard Google Maps navigation, and premiered the FQiX Series, a new urban moped platform in 150 and 300 variants, which reached European dealers in July 2026.

On 2 September 2026, NIU announced a partnership with gaming-hardware company Razer, with a co-branded FQiX Special Edition as its first product. Pre-orders opened in Europe the same day, with first deliveries scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.

Niu Smart Electric Scooter in a Miami, Florida showroom.

Finances

Sales also include bulk scooters sold to rideshare companies.

It had nearly $300M in revenue in 2019. It has raised over US$125 million in funding from investors.

In its March 17, 2025 release covering the fourth quarter and full year 2024, NIU reported full-year 2024 revenues of RMB 3,288.3 million (up 24.0% year-over-year) and a full-year net loss of RMB 193.2 million (an improvement from 2023).

Year *Total Revenue

(US$ Mil)

 *Net Income

(US$ Mil)

2018 215 -50
2019 298 27
2020 375 25
2021 581 35
2022 459 -7
2023 373 -38
2024 450 -26
2025 616 -6

* US$ figures converted by NIU at the year-end RMB/US$ rate published in each annual results release.

Key products

NIU's product range covers electric mopeds and scooters, electric motorcycles, kick-scooters and e-bikes, sold under model families including NQiX, FQiX, NQi, MQi, UQi, FQi, XQi, RQi, KQi and BQi. The company has launched most of its recent European models at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan.

NQiX Series

In November 2024, NIU previewed the NQiX Series, a redesign of its original NQi moped line, in 150, 300 and 500 variants. A top NQiX 1000 version was announced for Europe from the third quarter of 2025. The series introduced the "NIU Link Crown", a handlebar dial that lets riders adjust acceleration and torque while riding. NIU's website presents the series as a tribute to the NQi, which marked its tenth anniversary.

At EICMA 2025 on 4 November 2025, NIU announced 2026 updates for all NQiX models, including onboard Google Maps navigation and efficiency improvements to the battery and motor, along with a new flagship, the NQiX 1000. NIU stated the NQiX 1000 has a peak power of 15.5 kW, a top speed of 125 km/h and a range of over 100 km from three removable 72 V batteries, with European availability planned from the third quarter of 2026 at a starting price of €6,499.

FQiX Series

The FQiX Series succeeds the FQi 300 and FQi 500 shown in 2024. It had its world premiere at EICMA 2025 as a new urban design platform with a 5-inch TFT display, rear radar and the Link Crown interface. It can be unlocked by Bluetooth, NFC, the NIU app or a passcode.

The series comprises two models. The FQiX 150 is in the AM licence class (50 cc equivalent), with a top speed of 45 km/h. The FQiX 300 is in the A1 class (125 cc equivalent), with a top speed of 80 km/h. Both quote a range of up to 110 km with two batteries. By July 2026 the series was on sale at participating European dealers, from €2,499 (FQiX 150) and €2,999 (FQiX 300), including a special edition developed with gaming brand Razer.

XQi Series

NIU announced its first electric dirt bike, the XQi3, in 2023, in street-legal and off-road versions. At EICMA 2025 the company announced a relaunched XQi 300 and two new models, the XQi 400 and XQi 500 Street, for European markets in the second half of 2026. NIU stated the street-legal XQi 500 Street has a peak power of 28.8 kW

Awards and recognition

NIU products have received a number of design and press awards. Entries marked with a dagger (†) are listed by NIU itself and have not been confirmed by the awarding body.

Year Award Product Awarding body
2017 Red Dot Design Award† M1 Red Dot
2017 IDEA Award (Silver)† M1 Industrial Designers Society of America
2017 Good Design Award (G Mark)† M1 Japan Institute of Design Promotion
2018 Red Dot Design Award† U1 Red Dot
2018 IDEA Award (Silver)† U1 Industrial Designers Society of America
2018 Good Design Award (G Mark)† U1 Japan Institute of Design Promotion
2022 Best all-round kick-scooter† KQi2 Electric Scooter Guide
2023 Rider's Choice Award for Best Scooter Company NIU (company) Micromobility World
2023 Red Dot Design Award (Product Design) UQi+ Red Dot
2023 Red Dot Design Award: Best of the Best (Product Design) SQi Red Dot
2023 iF Design Award KQi2 Pro iF International Forum Design
2023 iF Design Award KQi Youth+ iF International Forum Design
2023 Best of IFA (Gadget Match)† KQi Air X IFA Berlin
2023 New York Product Design Award (Gold, Vehicle Technologies)† KQi3 Pro New York Product Design Awards
2023 Best Electric Scooter 2023† KQi3 Max Tom's Guide
2024 Red Dot Design Award (Product Design) XQi3 Red Dot
2024 Good Design Award (G Mark)† XQi3 Japan Institute of Design Promotion
2024 Golden Pin Design Award (Best Design)† XQi3 Golden Pin Design Award (Taiwan)
2025 Red Dot Design Award† NQiX Red Dot
2026 1000PS Top Awards: Top 10 Elektroroller, 1st place NQiX 500 1000PS
2026 1000PS Top Awards: Top 10 Elektroroller, 3rd place MQi GT 1000PS
2026 1000PS Top Awards: Top 10 Elektroroller, 4th place (shared) NQi GTS 1000PS
2026 1000PS Top Awards: Top 10 Elektroroller, 8th place FQi 1000PS

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Niu Technologies - Company Profile and News". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  2. ↑ "Yan Li, Niu Technologies: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  3. ↑ Kharpal, Arjun (2021-01-08). "Nasdaq-listed Chinese electric scooter firm Niu Technologies jumps 16% after sales bump". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  4. ↑ "niu". niu. Archived from the original on 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  5. ↑ Toll, Micah (2018-06-13). "New NIUs: Chinese electric scooter maker unveils latest two models designed for the streets of Europe". Electrek. Archived from the original on 2022-07-05. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  6. ↑ Cheng, Evelyn (2018-09-26). "Chinese scooter start-up Niu is taking over Beijing streets, growing quickly in Europe, and is now filing for a US IPO". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2022-12-24. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  7. ↑ "Chinese escooter maker's stock accelerates 400% on Covid boom". www.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  8. ↑ "NIU filings on SEC.gov". www.sec.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-04-07. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  9. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (6 January 2020). "China's NIU starts selling its electric mopeds in the US". The Verge. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  10. ↑ "Niu Technologies expands into e-bikes to grow international market presence". Bike Europe. 19 October 2021. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  11. ↑ Clos, Jeffrey (5 January 2024). "Niu Technologies Unleashes Its First-Ever Electric Dirt Bike, The XQi3". CodeX. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  12. ↑ "NIU Technologies Launches Its First-Ever Fully Electric Dirt Bike" (Press release). NIU Technologies – via PR Newswire. {{cite press release}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ↑ "NIU Innovations 2025". 1000PS. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  14. ↑ "NIU at EICMA 2025: Introducing the 2026 Lineup in Milan". NIU. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  15. ↑ "FQiX Is Here: NIU's New Electric Moped Series, Explained". NIU. 23 July 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "NIU and Razer Announce Strategic Partnership to Bring Gaming Culture to Urban Mobility". Razer. 2 September 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "NIU FQiX Special Edition: E-Roller im Razer-Look". Motorrad und Reisen. 2 September 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  18. ↑ "NIU Technologies, NIU:NMQ profile - FT.com". markets.ft.com. Archived from the original on 2023-04-08. Retrieved 2020-11-06.
  19. ↑ "Niu Technologies Financials". nasdaq. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-16.
  20. ↑ "Niu Technologies Announces Unaudited Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results" (Press release). Niu Technologies. 10 August 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 "NIU Innovations 2025". 1000PS. 5 November 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  22. 1 2 "NIU at EICMA 2025: Introducing the 2026 Lineup in Milan". NIU. 6 December 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  23. ↑ "NIU unveils bold new urban and off-road (but street legal!) electric motorbikes". Electrek. 9 November 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  24. 1 2 "FQiX Is Here: NIU's New Electric Moped Series, Explained". NIU. 23 July 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "About NIU". NIU. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  26. ↑ "NIU Awarded Rider's Choice Award for Best Scooter Company" (Press release). NIU Technologies. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2026 – via PR Newswire.
  27. ↑ "Red Dot Design Award: UQi+". Red Dot. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  28. ↑ "Red Dot Design Award: SQi". Red Dot. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  29. ↑ "Niu Kick Scooter KQi2 Pro". iF Design. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  30. ↑ "Niu Kids Scooter KQi Youth+". iF Design. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  31. ↑ "Red Dot Design Award: XQi3". Red Dot. Retrieved 8 October 2026.
  32. 1 2 3 4 "Top 10 Elektroroller 2026 – 1000PS Top Awards". 1000PS (in German). 2026. Retrieved 8 October 2026.